Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI
by TaiyakinoNaku
Summary: It's 2007 and Hinamizawa has been remade, and along with it comes the Endless June. Can fate be broken? And why recreate Hinamizawa? Lots of plot twists to keep you on your toes! Trying to make this as original as possible! OC Story With some Canons!
1. Arc1: Bonds

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Fanfiction**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though.

Note

The characters in this are based vaguely off canon characters. Hopefully you'll have fun guessing who each character is based off.

Also, if there's something you don't understand during the course of the story, leave a review 3 I'll try to cover it in the next chapter. Though some thing are a secret until later.

**. A R C . O N E . **

_**The Blood Tears Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 1 : **Bonds

It was early, but not too early for the sun to rise. Mikan Shiratori was woken up by the brutal rays of 7am sun that leaked in through the bedroom curtain and the smell of breakfast. In the one bedroom apartment she lived in it was almost impossible not to be woken by morning cooking if the sun didn't get you first.

Yawning, the black haired girl rose from her sleeping bag and air mattress, both of which had been on sale, and rubbed her eyes. As with every morning, Mikan had surrendered to the sun and smell of bacon and eggs, a meal that her roommate, Nanaha Morimiya, cooked better than anyone.

"Nanaha. Good morning." Murmured Mikan as he began to roll up her bright purple sleeping bag and deflat the mattress. Nanaha turned and giggled, her golden blonde hair sparkling in the sun that had heartlessly woken Mikan.

"Good morning, Mikan! Breakfast will be ready soon." She said sweetly, her voice quite mature for her age. Both girls were borderline fourteen and spent a lot of time together due to Hinamizawa's decision on how to deal with the city's orphans. The one room apartment was big enough for the three girls that shared it and paid for by donations from citizens. Offers to have donations uses to pay for food and beds had been made, but the head of house had turned it down.

Or, well. Head of Apartment.

"Good morning, you two." A childish voice came from the one and only doorway, the voice of the oldest of the three orphans, Nina Nijihara. The two younger girls smiled and waved at their sixteen year old 'older sister', especially since they noticed she was carrying groceries. It had been Nina who requested that she paid for living supplies with her own money and, after deciding on this method of living, she had gotten a number of jobs to earn spare cash. Luckily, Hinamizawa was a small city and most people were willing to work job hours around her life as the 'head of house' and school.

"Nina Good morning!" Nanaha called happily, giggling, "I made breakfast."

"I can tell. It smells good. Did you sleep well?"

The two girls nodded in unison.

"Yes! I take it work went well?" Asked Mikan, who was now fetching dishes from the drawer Nina had bought on sale. It was one of the only pieces of furniture in the apartment aside from the fold-up table and chairs. Most everything was kept neatly in a corner when not in use to make room for other things.

"Mmm. Thank you for asking, Mikan." Nina replied happily, going to set up the folding table and chairs. There was a knock at the door so Nanaha turned the stove off and headed over to answer it. Behind the door stood two other friends of the duo; Kain Shirogane and Ayu Awayuki. Kain was a tall blonde boy around Nina's age and Ayu was a girl only a few months older than the two of them. Ever since Kain moved to Hinamizawa a few month earlier, the two had been stuck to each other like glue.

"Good morning. We were hoping to have breakfast with you." Ayu chirped, "Kain here forgot to get the groceries again."

"Hey! It was your turn!" Kain argued, glaring at Ayu. Nanaha laughed and hurried back to the kitchen.

"It's ok, you two! I made extras"

"Yeah. This happens almost every time it's Kain's turn to buy groceries. We're used to it by now" Mikan explained in a mock lady-like way.

"Thanks so much for letting us come, you two." Ayu chirped, walking in and helping to set up the table. Her and Kain had come to share the apartment next to that of the three Orphans, simply because they felt bad for Nina when her parents had died. They had been quite worried about how stressful 'raising' two kids would be after just losing her parents.

"Ok, breakfast is served." Nanha announced, placing the last plate of eggs and bacon on the center of the table. All five friends scurried to their appropriate place at the table, obviously used to eating meals together since they all knew exactly where to sit.

Then everyone bowed their heads and smiled. "Thank you for the meal, Oyashiro-sama!"

Another day in the little experimental town of Hinamizawa had begun.

After breakfast, the group had cleaned up dishes together as a team before beginning the long walk to school. The air outside was fresh and clear, the weather a beautiful reminder of summer. Each child wore a school uniform, though the uniforms were different for everyone; Hinamizawa's School had no set uniform, so requested that students wore what they had in their old schools before moving to the village.

"So, Nina. Did you get enough rest?" Asked Ayu, but only once she was positive the younger two girls were off in their own conversations. No need to make them feel guilty, after all.

Nina nodded, though her next action of rubbing her eyes and yawning made Ayu and Kain wonder how truth she was being. "Yeah, I'm fine. I got a bonus for working late."

"Nina, you know this isn't healthy." Kain pointed out, as if no one knew yet. Ayu nodded and took her friend's hand; Nina and Ayu had known each other long before moving to Hinamizawa five year ago, so were naturally a bit closer to each other than the to others.

"Promise me you'll stop working thee late shifts, Nina. Your family left you tons of money." Ayu said firmly, looking into her best friend's eyes. Nina cowered a bit and nodded.

"But... I wanna use that extra money to leave this place when my term is up."

Ayu went silent and shook her head. "You know what? Let's drop it for now."

Nina didn't seem to have much of a problem with it either, so the subject was, in deed, dropped. And just in time, since the two younger girls came around and hugged Nina from behind, making the older girl fall over.

"Nina Sorry!" Nanaha said, giggling when she saw Nina was okay, "We wanna get ice cream!"

"You just ate breakfast." Kain pointed out, smirking playfully, "What a glutton."

The girl twitched and got up, running over to try and tackle Kain. "I am not! How mean!"

"True true. Mean mean." Echoed Mikan, who was still pinning Nina to the ground, "Nina, go beat him up."

The two older girls laughed.

"Maybe after school. You. Me. Behind the gym. 3." Ayu teased giving Kain a shoulder bump as she walked by. Nanaha laughed at this and hurried after Ayu, leaving Kain alone. The boy sighed and shook his head, grinning a bit before running to catch up with his friends. Everything seemed to be running smoothly...

Even the invisible girl watching them was convinced that nothing could go wrong.


	2. Haunted

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, and Ayu..

Note

Ok, so I'm really bad at this horror suspense stuff so I'd love to know what everyone things of the story so far! ;; Guesses on who is who'll help me tell if I'm dong my job right too. Thank you so so so much for reading!

I changed the title to match the 'naming pattern' of Higurashi so far. 'Sai' means 'Again'. Haha. Lame, I know. If I find out it doesn't mean 'Again' I'll change it to whatever does mean again.. So correct me if you know I'm wrong! Thank you!

**. A R C . O N E . **

_**The Blood Tears Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 2 : **Haunted

The walk to school seemed to be perfectly normal. Along the way there were, of course, a couple incidents but nothing the friends thought very much of. Mikan and Nanaha played tricks on Kain every morning, all the way to school, while Ayu and Nina discussed what the younger two considered "big girl talk"; namely how they'd handle the groceries and whether or not they should invest in a bigger table, since the little four person one didn't work while when all five friends got together; they were too big for that little thing now.

"I was thinking we could join forces and rent out a bigger apartment somewhere." Ayu suggested cheerfully, "Maybe even a whole house. With the orphan money the city council gives you every month and my family's obsession with my well-being, then add our job cash and Kain's crazy rich parent, we could get a little place all to ourselves."

Nina 'mm'ed, trying to listen to both Ayu and the amusing chatter of the trick trio behind her... or rather, the two tricksters and the poor trick-victim. Nanaha had just tripped Kain with her feet while he chased her in a circle around Nina and Ayu.

But everything seemed really distant to her. She was having a hard time keeping her mind 'on earth'. Sounds seemed beyond her and images were bright and blurry, hard to focus on...

"Nina...? Nina!"

Her friend's voice pierced the barrier just as Kain ran into her, pushing her to the ground. As she fell, Nina saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Her heart raced and she screamed.

"Nina?"

"Nina-oneechan?"

"Nina-mama?"

"Ow..."

Kain was pushed off the fallen girl by her fellow females, all three of them worried by the sound of terror in her scream. Not the terror of falling, but the terror of something else.

"Nina, are you ok?" Ayu asked, her presence being much more commanding than the two younger girls, enough so that they went silent to let their older friend check on the brunette. Nina moaned and rubbed her head, her heart still racing but calm coming back as her senses 'came back' to her. The figure she could have sworn she'd seen had vanished.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, Kain..."

He shook his head and got up, grinning. "Naw. Don't be. A little fall never hurt anyone."

"Y-Yeah." Nina nodded and also got up, but not without the help of the younger girls that treasured her so much. She smiled down kindly at them and pet each of their heads. "I'm fine, you two. Stop worrying. Kain just startled me. So get beat him up."

"What?!" Kain exclaimed, backing away as Nanaha and Mikan ran over to tackle him. Pretty soon had fallen back into chaos, as if nothing had ever happened. But, even though Nina was laughing and smiling, joining the chase after Kain, Ayu couldn't help but worry. Something was wrong and only Ayu seemed to realize it.

Class passed by slowly. Kain knew it wasn't because Ciel-sensei was a bad teacher, nor was it because the lessons were 'easy', because they sure as heck weren't, but it didn't change the fact he was bored. Then again, time did tend to pass by slowly when you were anxiously waiting for something.

Like after school clubs, for example.

"Ne. Kain." Nanaha whined, pulling her chair and desk over to his. Even though she was several years younger than him, Nanaha was in the same class as Kain. Every child in Hinamizawa attended school together since there weren't many kids. The town was mainly filled with old people who wanted to go back to the 'old good way of living'.

"Hmm? What's up, Nanaha?" Kain asked, looking down at her. The little girl giggled.

"I know you've only been here a year, so you probably don't know, but the Watanagashi festival is coming up." She explained happily, her voice practically dripping with over excitement, "Will you go with me?"

Kain blinked. That was a dumb question. Of course he would. "Sure...?"

"HOLD IT!" The random outburst caught everyone off guard and they all turned to Ayu. She'd gotten out of her desk and was pointing accusingly at Kain.

Everyone went back to work, but Kain and Nanaha. The 'Games Club' was known for being a bit crazy, even in class. Ciel-sensei didn't mind much anyway.

"What?" Kain started to ask, but he was cut off when Nanaha leaned forward and hugged him protectively. "Too late, Ayun, you lose" The little girl teased.

"I do not lose! This game was unfair!" The older girl argued, "No rules or anything! You rigged it somehow just know it!"

"I did not." Nanaha snapped back, "I'm just cuter than you are."

Kain was left to be confused while they fought, the war soon joined by Mikan. The only comfort came from Nina, who always sat next to him and was very observant. She giggled and reached out to pat his head.

"There there, Kain. They were just competing to ask you out on a date." She explained, as if it were no big deal. Kain turned bright red.

Had this just turned into a harem story? Three cute girls all asking the same guy for a date?

Of course, Nina skillfully killed that fantasy when she added, "They were bored and wanted to find out which of them was cutest. You were just the nearest pervert."

He let his head drop to the desk and sulked. "Is that all you guys think of me? That I'm a pervert?"

"Mikan used to think you were a serial killer." Nina said cheerfully, her response receiving a moan from a very unhappy Kain.

"Geez. You guys are always picking on me. What else do you think of me?" He asked, though it was obvious he was teasing and giving Nina an opening to say something even more cruel

But she didn't respond.

Kain waited a second or two longer, then lifted his head to look at his friend. "Hey, Nina? Nina?"

She still did not reply. Nina was staring in horror at something across the classroom, beginning to shake and go pale. When Kain looked in the direction he saw nothing.

"Nina? What's wrong?"

"NOOO! GET BACK!" She shrieked, trying to push herself out of her chair. The quick motion resulted in her pushing Kain out of his desk as well as her falling onto her back. The frightened teen was quick to scramble to her feet again, though, and look back at the corner she seemed to fear.

"Ah! Nina! Nina, what's your problem?!" Kain demanded. Still, she did not seem too concerned with him, just whatever she was staring at.

By this time, the entire class had turned their focus to her. Realizing something was wrong, Ayu dropped her current fight and rushed to her friend's side.

Nina screamed when Ayu got close.

"NO! NO! Stay away! STAY AWAY! It's a lie!" She yelled, waving her arms around as if to push something away from her. But nothing was there. Her panic increased when she realized her efforts to 'protect' herself were failing and she covered her head and ears, dropping to the floor and curling up.

"Stay back... Stop saying that..! SHUT UP! You're lying!"

"Nina!" Ayu exclaimed, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around her trembling friend. Nina sobbed and hugged Ayu tightly.

"Ayu..! Ayu! Make it stop!" She sobbed. Ayu 'sshed' making, an attempt to sooth her friend when she pet her head.

"It's ok. Calm down."

"Nina-mama?" Nanaha squeaked, coming to join the two, "Nina-mama, what's wrong?"

"Oneechan! Oneechan!" Mikan echoed, running over to hug Nina. Since all the girls were hugging, Kain decided it was his lucky day and tried to join in, but Mikan boxed him out.

When Nina's panic fit had been reduced to little sobs, the class's teacher hurried over and talked to Ayu, who was holding a pretty-much-asleep Nina in her arms. They spoke in hushed whispers, so Kain couldn't quite understand what they were saying, but judging by the looks on their faces, he knew it wasn't good.

The class left their chairs to join the comforting and Nina began drifting off to sleep, but every once and a while, she'd glance to be sure whatever had been haunting her was not there.

It was a liar and she didn't want it saying bad things about her friends anymore.


	3. Ogres

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, and Ayu..

Note

Ummm.. not much to say. Sorry. ;

**. A R C . O N E . **

_**The Blood Tears Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 3 :** Ogres

Nina had had to go home early.

Since she had no parents to pick her up, Ayu had volunteered to walk her friend back home and make sure she got there safely. Because Ayu, the club leader, was not there, the Games Club did not meet and the others went home shortly afterward.

The next few days were event-less. Nina was fine and everyone acted like it had never happened, aware of the fact she was probably extremely embarrassed by her outburst. She blamed it on working herself but worked overtime anyways.

The happy times were back.

Kain yawned, waking up to the usual sound of summer birds and bugs. It was the day he'd been waiting for.. eagerly? He couldn't decide. After Nina's outburst the 'original' plans for the Watanagashi festival had been completely redone.

"_Ne... Kain."_ It was Nanaha. After Nina had been taken home by Ayu, class had returned to normal. However, Kain had been left with the task of dealing with Nina's "children". Even though they were teens, Mikan and Nanaha had become family to Nina, to the point that you could swear they were somehow blood related. So, after the supporting pillar of their family had gone crazy and been taken away, both girl were a bit upset.

"_Yeah, Nanaha? What's wrong?"_ Kain asked, smiling, despite how worried he was. He had only known her for under a year but Kain had never seen Nina flip out in front of people. She seemed like the type to hold her emotions in.

Nanaha hugged Kain, whimpering a bit. _"I know I won, but I think Nina needs the date with you more than I do."_

"_Heh?!"_ Kain had been very embarrassed. The date with him was some sort of treat? And it was really cute Nanaha would give it up for the sake of Nina... She was such a cute kid!

"_Besides, I only asked you out because then I wouldn't have to play the punishment game..."_

It still hurt to look back on that day when Kain's ego had been repetitively shattered.

But it was the Watanagashi Festival now. June 19th. And he had a date, despite the fact it had been a prize he never wanted to give tossed around like a hot potato. It would be his first date... ever. That was pretty sad for a boy his age.

"Ah, you're up." Ayu was awake already, busy cooking breakfast, "Everyone I coming over to eat with us, Kain, so please be ready."

He moaned and sat up. Ayu had some sort of 6th sense that allowed her to always know when you were awake, or wake-up-able. Once up and dressed, Kain went over to help Ayu set up their table and chairs.

"Good morning!" Mikan called, opening the door, "I picked open your lock! Hope that's ok!"

Ayu laughed. "It's fine. No need to lock your doors in Hinamizawa anyways! There's no one here to hurt you!"

"Really." Mikan chirped, now skipping over to the table, "What's for breakfast?"

"Crepes, right?" Nanaha seemed to appear out of no where next to Mikan, smiling and giggling, "I smell crepes."

"And Pancakes." Nina added when she walked in. Spotting Kain the girl flashed a friendly smile and little giggle, obviously aware of their 'date'. Kain just blushed. He didn't know whether to be happy or depressed.

"Nina got it. She wins!" Ayu announced, pointing the flipper at her, "So Nina gets some of Nanaha's share for punishment."

"Awww... That's ok..." Nanaha said with a sigh, "Nina needs to get up for when she performs tonight."

"Huh? Performance?" Kain repeated. Nina nodded.

"I'm Oyashiro-sama's miko." Nina explained, walking over to take her seat at the table, "I have to do a ritual to break up the cotton to float downstream."

Kain still looked confused, so Nanaha piped up.

"Oyashiro-sama is the god that protects us." She explained, "A little into the first year he made himself known."

That didn't really answer any questions but just made more come up.

"Oyashiro-sama is a kind God who protects our town from the sin and evil of the world outside. Because of him, we can get rid of the ogres in our hearts. No impurity can get in and nurture our natural sin. Oyashiro-sama will save us, that's why we're here."

Kain rose a brow. It did, at the very least, explain the odd ceremony he had had to attend to 'wash away his sin' before he got into Hinamizawa. And now that he thought about it, he had been thanking this Oyashiro-sama for food and safety and stuff, but that was out of habit and his parents had nailed the habit into him.

Nanaha continued, seeming to be in her own little world. Kain guessed she was very religious.

"But we have to obey certain rules. We cannot leave Hinamizawa for more than a week unless we serve our time here, otherwise our inner demons will take control again. And if we try to leave, Oyahiro-sama will curse u-"

"Nanaha!" Nina interrupted her 'daughter', smiling brightly, "Wash your hand so we can eat."

The girl seemed to return to reality and giggled. "Ok, Nina-mama!" She chirped, rushing off to the sink. Kain glanced over at Nina and noticed something odd.

She was trembling.

"Nina? You ok?" He whispered. When she turned to look at him, Kain could clearly see that she was scared; her face was pale and eyes like those of a frightened animal.

But she simply smiled and nodded. "Of course I'm ok... I'm looking forward to showing you around today."

He nodded slowly, though uncertain as to whether or not to believe she was 'ok'. When she broke away from his stare, going to wash her hands, Kain glanced over to Ayu. She had been watching, as he'd assumed, and looked quite worried. When Nina was out of earshot, Ayu scolded Nanaha for bringing up Oyashiro-sama.

Breakfast started as it always did. The small fold-out table was crammed with plates around the perimeter and more plates and glasses took up the center of the table. After giving thanks to their protective God, the citizens of Hinamizawa went straight to eating.

"So! Is everyone excited about the Watanagashi festival?" Mikan asked cheerfully, "We'll have to meet up after that date to play games."

"Yeah! I want to get a goldfish! Can we have goldfish, Nina-mama?" Asked Nanaha cheerfully. Nina smiled and nodded.

"If you can win one. We can probably win a fish bowl too." She said calmly, reaching out to take another pancake off of the center plate, "But remember, a fish is a big responsibility. We'll have to take good care of it."

The two younger girls cheered and began chatting together about what to name the fish. Mikan seemed to be winning with her argument to name it after her missing brother.

While the younger two discussed the fish, the older three went to talking about other matters.

"So, Nina, what do you think about my plan?" Ayu asked. Nina lifted her head from focusing on the difficult task of dressing her pancake with syrup and raspberries.

"Huh? Oh. You mean about moving in together?" She repeated. Ayu nodded. Kain looked very confused.

"What's this about?" He asked. Ayu giggled and winked.

"Nina and I have been counting up our savings. We found that if we pool the founding from the orphan charity Hinamizawa gives her, the money her family left behind, the money my parents give me and the money we earn working, we could probably buy a house and live there no problem for at least five more years."

"Ah.." Kain looked mildly surprised, then grinned and gave them a thumbs up, "Count me in! I can get a job to help."

"With all of this money it's a wonder we didn't do this sooner, huh, Nina?"

Nina blushed a bit and nodded. "Yes... We should start looking at houses."

"Gotcha covered!" Ayu exclaimed happily, "I thought you'd say yes, so I talked to grandmother about it. She says that if we can wait a few months we can get a new place in July, probably. She says some people will leave after the Watanagashi festival and that they're building new houses for new citizens anyways. We could get first priority."

"Wow!" Nina exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She exclamation brought the younger two back into the conversation.

"Oh? We're moving?" Nanaha asked. She was pretty good at eavesdropping. "We're going to live with Kain and Ayu?"

Nina nodded. "Isn't that great? We'll have more room and we can buy real beds and a real table..." She seemed awfully excited, though her voice went to almost a whisper when she murmured, "Like a real family..."

Ayu smiled proudly, quite pleased to see Nina's spirits going up again. The meal seemed to be drawing to a close so she eventually got up and began taking up plate.

"Nina? Why don't you and Kain go on down to the festival? We'll catch up later." She promised with a smile, "We'll stay and clean up."

"Eh? I couldn't, I should help-" A stern look from Ayu convinced Nina not to help. Though they were close in age, Ayu held a lot of power over Nina.

Minutes later, Nina and Kain were both dressed for an outing. They only had time to wave and wish everyone luck before the three girls shoved them forcefully out the door and into the hallway.

They stood silent for a moment, then Nina laughed nervously and looked up at Kain. "Well... Shall we go?"

He laughed nervously right back at her and nodded, "Yeah. Let's go then?"

Nina nodded, hurrying ahead. Though he was falling behind, Kain kept his slow relaxed pace, letting the energetic miko practically run laps around him. It took them five minutes to get out of the apartment, at which time Nina realized he was purposefully being slow.

"HEY! Ka-in!" She snapped, though there was some playful anger in her tone, "You're going slow on purpose!"

"Your point?" He replied teasingly. Nina frowned and waved her arms like a child.

"I want to get some alone time with Kain you know! It' my prize!"

Kain turned bright red and looked away. "Oh... I... didn't realize."

"So you'll hurry up?" Nina asked. He nodded and took her hand, speeding up his pace as he dragged her along.

Nina fell silent, enough so that Kain began to worry. She seemed to have spotted something a few yard off and was straining to hear something.

Kain slowed down.

"Hey...? What're you looking at?"

She didn't reply at first, just began muttering to herself.

"No... no no no... That's not true. It's a lie! I can't... I..."

"Nina!" Kain had to raise his voice to get her attention, "Nina, what're you talking about?"

She gasped and turned to Kain, brought out of her little world. Seeing him, Nina smiled weakly.

"Oh. Kain. It's just you... Sorry, what were you saying?" She was talking like nothing had ever happened.

He frowned. "You spaced out... What's a lie?"

Nina laughed. "Oh, you heard that? It's nothing. I'm just talking to myself..."

"Liar. Tell me." His voice was much firmer now, enough so that Nina's smile promptly fell off her face and she looked a bit hurt.

"I-I told you... It's..."

"Liar!" He repeated, grabbing Nina by her shoulders quite roughly, "Some thing's wrong! You freaked out in class and now you're always spacing out and talking about liars..."

Nina looked away, but a shake from Kain forced her to look him in the eyes.

Her own hazel eye began to tear up a bit and she whispered, as if she was afraid someone else would hear, "I'm cursed."

Kain loosened his grip a bit, making her feel comfortable enough to continue.

"Ever since I said I wanted to leave Hinamizawa... Oyashiro-sama keeps coming to me. He tells me I'll die tonight, when everyone is celebrating... I'll die..."

The thought was making her tremble and turn pale.

"He'll kill me... I sinned. My demons are taking over. I'll be killed. Killed..."

Maybe bringing this up had been a bad idea. Nina continued to shake for a few seconds while Kain while silent, then she jumped and turned around sharply.

Whatever she thought he saw made her scream and topple back.

"NOOOO! No, that won't happen!" She shrieked at the top of her lung, loud enough that Kain had to step back, or else he felt his ears might fall off. "That won't happen! Liar! LIAR!"

"Nina, what's-"

"Stay back!" Kain's attempt to pull her into a hug (girls calmed down if they were hugged, right? Like in that chick flic Ayu made him watch) ended with Nina smacking him hard across the face. She was breathing heavily, eyes wide and her whole body shaking.

"You... You..! Just stay away!" She yelled, her tears making her voice crack, her yelling becoming strained, "Or else... or else... You'll be the second! We'll be the two to die this year!"

And then, just like that, Nina turned and ran off. Though Kain started after her he soon found that she was far too fast... How embarrassing, being out run by a girl like this...

"Nina! NINA!" He called desperately. But she was either out of ear shot or just ignoring him.

Well, that was a smooth first date.

"Kain? Kain, where's Nina?"

Returning to the apartment and having Ayu blow up on him only made it worse. It was like being scolded by a girl's mother after a bad date. When Ayu found out Nina had run off she ranted Kain out for a good five minutes on how awful he was. Then, when she calmed down, she told Mikan and Nanaha to go ahead to the festival and look for Nina and to give her a huge hug when they found her.

Kain stayed back in the apartment with her.

"I'm really sorry..." Kain started, embarrassed. Ayu sighed and shook her head.

"Kain... Have you heard about the Curse?"

He shook his head, so Ayu continued calmly.

"Ever since Hinamizawa was founded five years ago, one person has died and one has vanished on the night of the Watanagashi festival. Nina's mother, Oyashiro-sama's old miko, told us it was to keep our inner demons asleep."

"Inner demons...? The ogres? What Nanaha was talking about?"

Ayu nodded."We were chosen to live here to deal with demons we are cursed with... And..." She took a deep breath, "I think Nina is going to be demoned away this year."


	4. Bloody Tears

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, and Ayu..

Note

Woo! This is the first chapter with an actual killing! I apologize for my crappy murder, I suck at gore DX

If you know how I can make it better, please let me know! Thanks for reading!

**. A R C . O N E . **

_**The Blood Tears Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 4 :** Bloody Tears

Hearing that one of your best friends was going to be demoned away is never a pleasant thing. It often doesn't help if you don't have any idea what it means to be 'demoned away' in the first place. Such was the case of Shirogane Kain. The blonde boy was staring at his white haired friend, stunned by the news she had offered him.

"Demoned... away? What does that mean...?" He asked as a few seconds.

Ayu sighed.

"They really didn't tell you much before you moved here, did they?" She asked quietly, before trying to laugh, "I guess it wouldn't look good on an ad... 'Come to Hinamizawa! Only two people die every year! Usually'..."

She sighed sadly, looking down at the apartment floor again. It took her a few minutes to find the words for an answer and construct it into a proper sentence, at which time she blurted. "To feed the demons! We all have demons in our hearts, that's why we were chosen to live here... And in order to feed their lust for blood and death, Oyashiro-sama kills one person and then one vanishes... We're told that the one who vanishes is fed to the demons in our souls... Weird,I know, but it keeps the rest of us from becoming mass murderers..."

It made enough sense to Kain. Mass murderers... The word made him shudder and wonder why he was there in Hinamizawa... Was it for his parents or him? Or both? And did this mean his friends could be killers too? Was their happy life a lie?

Noticing his discomfort, Ayu laughed weakly and waved her hand. "Hey, calm down, Kain. Whatever Oyashiro-sama does works and after five years our demons should be gone forever... Hinamizawa really is a wonderful place..."

"But what about Nina?! Is there anything we can do?" Kain asked quickly, remembering how the conversation had started, "Will she really...?"

"I don't know." Ayu whispered, "Some of the deaths have been random... Others have made perfect sense... But Nina did wish to..." Her voice faded away, as if she were afraid speaking on Nina's sinful wish to leave would condemn her for sure. After a moment, she whispered words she obviously hated herself for thinking, "If someone else dies tonight... Then he wouldn't have to take Nina...But.."

Kain looked away.

"Right when we were about to get our own place and be happy..." He muttered, his words becoming harsh and dark, "Damn it... DAMN IT!"

His fist came down hard on the floor and Ayu jumped, startled.

"What kind of God does that to people?! Feeding them to demons... What type of sick thing do you people worship?!"

"Kain!" Ayu yelped, trying to drown out his word so Oyashiro-sama wouldn't hear by yelling his name over and over. He obviously caught on since he stood up, glaring.

"So tell me! How can you worship such a disgusting God?!"

"Because..." She got up too, looking at him pleadingly, "Because Oyashiro-sama is helping us! I know it's sad, but it's for everyone's own good!"

"I thought Nina was your friend! How can you say her dying is 'for everyone's own good'?!"

"Kain I...! I just can't go against Oyashiro-sama... What he says is right! I'm sure Nina agrees with me... But if dying could save everyone Nina loves I know she'd die with a smile... I would too if meant protecting all of you!"

There was a short silence, then Kain clenched his fists and looked up at her, glaring hatefully. "Then die."

Another silence.

Ayu stepped back.

"Wh-what? Kain?"

"Then you should take her place and die if you'd be so happy to!"

Something in her friend had snapped. For the first few seconds, Ayu was stunned. The words were sinking in slowly, and perhaps a bit too slowly for her own good. By the time she realized what he was suggesting, Kan had grabbed one of the folding chairs from breakfast and lifted it above his head.

"Kain..! Kain, STOP!" Ayu shrieked in terror, just barely managing to avoid the chair that he swung at the ground. He didn't say anything after the first swing, just ran after her and swung the chair at her again. It hit this time, but even at his hardest, all it seemed to do was bruise her. Given her strength compared to his a simple chair wouldn't do the trick.

"I thought you said you'd be happy to die to help your friends, Ayu! Was that a lie?" He snapped, dropping the chair. Ayu was on her knees, panting and shaking in a corner by the kitchen part of their small apartment.

"I-I... I would! But... Kain, this isn't..." She was beginning to sob, "You can't kill me! It won't solve anything! Oyashiro-sama...!"

"Oyashiro-sama Oyashiro-sama Oyashiro-sama... Can you say anything else?! If I weren't mistaken, I'd say you approved of all this killing! It really doesn't bother you one bit, does it?"

A high pitched whimpering-squeak came from Ayu when she looked Kain in the eyes. She shook her head, her sobs more noticeable now.

"Kain! Kain, please stop!"

He noticed that the kitchen still had knives out. When Ayu saw where he was headed, she screamed and got to her feet. Something told her he was beyond being reasoned with.

"Kain! Please, STOP IT!"

There wasn't much place to run. The apartment was small and Ayu was shaking and crying so much that she couldn't go far fast. Her legs were getting numb and, no sooner than she'd gotten up, she fell back down.

Ayu has cornered.

And Kain was armed.

It only took a minute for the sacrifice to Oyashiro-sama to be mad. Her screams were annoying, so her throat was the first then Kain decided to put out of order. By the time he was done, a puddle of thick red liquid had expanded under her battered body. His friend's bleached hair was picking up color and she was barely breathing, the life draining from her blue eyes. Blood ran from a wound on her head caused by the chair and mixed with with the tears rolling down her cheeks.

Kain was breathing hard, exhausted from his sin. He didn't shed a single tear; Ayu's blood poured enough for all the tears he could have cried anyways.

Then he brought the simple butcher's knife down one more time, forcing the last glow of life out of her eyes, before leaving his weapon in her when he hurried to the sink. Kain washed his hands and his breathing became regular again. Then he grabbed a baseball bat from the corner and headed out the door. If he planned to guarantee Nina was not the one killed that year he had to be sure the two sacrifices made did not include her.

But how did a human 'demon away' another?


	5. Bad End

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, and Ayu..

Note

Ugguuu ; Sorry for the crappy murders! Umm... Well, this marks the end of Arc One. I hope it turned out semi-ok..

Umm...

If you have time, feel free to leave questions in the reviews? I want to know what exactly you all want answered since, in the spirit of Higurashi, I'll do an 'answer' arc for this chapter pretty soon. Thank you for reading!

And Blitz12: I'd love to help you out! Just let me know what I can do! 3

**. A R C . O N E . **

_**The Blood Tears Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 5 :** Bad End

By the time he reached the festival things were well under way. Kain found that many people had dressed up in colorful Japanese clothing, a result from how the culture in Hinamizawa had changed drastically to differ from the towns around it. He could see that there were many games to be played and trinkets to be won.

It looked like so much fun.

It made him feel cold and sick. Looking around he could tell which games he wanted to play most and which ones he would win or lose. Mikan and Nanaha would want fish. Nina would be good at the fish game too, and maybe her and Ayu would be a good team for the shooting game.

Ayu.

It was now that he'd gotten over his anger that Kain really realized what he had done. He couldn't get the smell of her blood and her sobs out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. The feeling of sinking a blade into a human's skin and the sickening result...

"Kain! Where's Ayu?"

When he snapped to, Kain was faced with Nanaha and Mikan. The two girls had already won a fish, a tiny little goldfish with a black spot on its tail.

"A-Ayu?" He repeated, shaking a bit, " Oh.. uh... She said she'd be a bit late. She's.. um..."

"Cleaning?"

He decided to go with what Nanaha said, nodding. "Yeah, still cleaning."

"We can go help. We need to get our goldfish a bowl anyways." Nanaha chirped, turning to leave. Kain's eyes widened and he shook his head, reaching out for the younger girl's shoulder.

"NO! No, she wanted to do it alone!" He insisted, "You guys can win a bowl, right?"

Mikan nodded, stepping up by Nanaha. "Let's do that, ne? I don't think we want to go see Ayu if she says she wants to do it alone. Right?"

"Mmm... I guess so.." Nanaha murmured, biting her lip, "Sure... Let's go. Kain, are you coming?"

He shook his head, glad Mikan had saved him. "N-No.. umm... Do you know where Nina is?"

Nanaha looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Oh! Yes! Miss Takano said she was up at the shrine repenting!"

Miss Takano? Kain hadn't heard of her before. However, he did not question who this woman was. Instead he just nodded and hurried off to the shrine. If he couldn't find someone to 'demon away' then he'd just have to protect Nina for the time being. And maybe there'd be some clues up there anyway.

Nina wasn't hard to find,either. All Kain had to do was run up a little ways up the hill, on top of which was Oyashiro-sama's sacred shrine that looked over the town, and Nina was in sight. Just as Nanaha had suggested, the brunette was kneeled by the shrine praying. When in ear shot, Kain could hear what she was asking for.

"Even if I die, please protect the others, Oyashiro-sama. I'm sorry." She whispered.

Kain walked up beside her, still holding his baseball bat. He wasn't quite sure whether or not to interrupt her. Would she even care that he'd come? That he'd gone through so much to protect her?

"Nina..."

She jumped a bit when she heard his voice, turning slowly and smiling up. It was as if nothing had ever happened; Nina was back to being cheerful and sane.

"Oh, hey there, Kain. You just couldn't let your first date end badly, could you?" She teased in her usual sweet tone, "Sorry for running off."

When he didn't reply, Nina continued.

"I think I sorted things out... Even if Oyashiro-sama takes me away, I at least want to leave all of you happy and well."

Did dead count as well? Maybe Ayu was excluded from this wish. If she was, Kain would be able to stop feeling so sick inside.

For a moment there was silence. Then Nina frowned a bit.

"What's wrong, Kain? You're all quiet." She pouted a bit.

He frowned too.

"Nina... I... I did it. You're almost safe now."

She blinked, stunned.

"You won't die this year. You'll get to your fifth year and you can leave without a care in the world."

Nina shivered a bit. "H-Hey, what's with that tone? You sound like you..." Her voice trailed off a bit, "...killed some...oh god."

It took her a record two seconds to scramble to her feet and put a bit of distance between them.

"You.. You didn't, right?"

He bit his lip. Should he lie? His hesitation said everything, though, so there was no point to it.

"K-Kain! Hey, say something... You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

He stayed silent. The only sound came from two laughing girls running up the hill.

"Please say you didn't! Even if it's a lie..." Nina's voice trailed off and she clenched her fists, on the verge of tears, "Kain... I... I was ok with dying! I sinned! If it'd help save everyone I love then I'd happily die!"

Just like Ayu had said.

Kain was feeling worse. Had this all been for nothing?

"Kain, I'll die anyways, you know... If no one comes to kill me, I'll do it myself!" She snapped, voice shaking, "My existence did nothing... My sin has taken an innocent life away!"

He shook a bit. Was he sad? Feeling guilty?Heck yes. But he was also angry. Why was she being so ungrateful? After everything he'd done... And for what? Why?

"Shouldn't you keep living?" He asked, trying to remain calm, "Live for the person who died in your place?"

"I know I should... but..." She looked away, "I don't know them... I don't know how to..."

"It was Ayu."

Nina looked back at him. Her eyes had gone wide again and her mouth was open.

"A...A..A...Ayu?" She repeated. When he nodded, Nina put her hands over her mouth and shook her head.

"Why...? No... I can't!" She screamed, "No.. no no..."

He didn't say anything.

"Ayu...Ayu..." Nina repeated, sobbing, "I can't... " She looked up at Kain, "There was to be a second, right? I'll be the second! I can't just leave Ayu alone!"

Mikan and Nanaha were visible now, carrying their fish bowls. Nina knew they were coming, but directed her efforts at trying to open the shrine door, hoping to either curse herself so badly she'd be killed on the spot or find a good suicide tool behind the wooden doors.

Kain spun the baseball bat a bit. He had to do something fast. Nina seemed quite serious about suicide at this point... To make herself the second death of the year.

_If there was a second... she wouldn't want anymore deaths and would live on... right?_

But who could Kain make the second? Nina was surprisingly good at attacking the shrine door's lock... And pretty soon, he realized she had a key and was just struggling to get it in the keyhole with her shaking hand.

"Nina-mama? What are you doing?"

Nanaha.

And Mikan.

Surely if he beat them both good and hard... One would die before Nina got the door open. Or at least get her attention away from the door.

So, not thinking too straight to begin with, Kain rushed forward with his baseball bat. The two young girls laughed at first, expecting a joke or something. But when the bat hit Nanaha, resulting in a sickening cracking sound and a falling body, the only girl who could still stand screamed.

"NANAHA!" Mikan screamed in horror. Her voice caught Nina's attention and the older girl instantly dropped her key, staring in horror. Kain gave Nanaha's limp body a few more hits for good measure, until he realized a growling pool of blood. For a split second he paused, but Nanaha was still making sounds, so he lifted the bat to beat her once more, just get the second death done before he had time to think anymore about it.

"MIKAN! NO!" Nina shrieked, stumbling off the shrine, which was elevated a few inched from the ground, and towards the bloody scene. Kain had accidentally hit Mikan when she rushed over to try and protect her friend's battered body resulting in another crack when Kain's bat hit the living girl's neck.

Mikan fell over top of Nanaha and Nina slowed a bit, shaking far too much to keep going. Even if she could keep going, she didn't want to. The sight of the two bodies from a distance was plenty horrifying... Seeing it up close would just make it worse.

"Mi...kan..Mikan! Nanaha! Are you ok? ANSWER ME!" She screamed.

There was no response.

And maybe he was trying to get them to wake up, or just make Nina throw up, but Kain nudged the bodies with his bat, unintentionally squeezing a bit of blood out of open wounds.

Nina was sobbing now, on her knees and staring up at Kain as he walked over to her.

"K-Kain!" She wailed, "How could you? We were a family... They're like my children! They were my little angels... And you... You...!"

Shaking her head and covering her face, Nina kept sobbing.

Kain snapped back to his senses.

"I-I'm sorry. Nina, I... I don't know why..."

She choked a bit on her tears and tried to wipe her eyes enough that she could see him clearly when she looked up again.

"I-I hate you... I hate you so much..." She whispered, "You...You're a monster! I wish you had been the one to die!"

Maybe it was because she was wishing while near the shrine, or maybe being a miko does give you some sort of power, but Nina got her wish.

All it took was a bullet from the woods and Kain fell. Nina instantly screamed, but couldn't move. His body was right beside her, his eyes staring up at her as blood soaked her dress.

He didn't know how long it took for him to finally die. It didn't matter anyways, so why count the seconds going by? All Kain could use to track the time was that it had been slow enough that he could see her lean over him and cry something about having not meant it and not to leave her too. Some time after that, hands grabbed her arms and, despite a decent struggle, Nina was eventually picked up and carried away. It really looked like she wanted to stay with him as she kicked her feet and reached her arms out, wanting to grab so much dirt she couldn't be taken away.

She was crying the whole time. Crying real tears. And when he thought about, he was crying too.

He didn't know how long he was laying there alone, ether.

But it probably didn't matter.

Nothing mattered once you were dead.

FYI, this is a BAD END.


	6. Arc 2: Secret's Out

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, and Ayu..

Note

Time for Arc two!

But first!

I forgot to include the hints and junk at the end of the last chapter! SO! I will include them at the start of this chapter ; But from now on, they'll go at the end of arcs. The pacing of this chapter sucks, so I apologize in advance.

Also! I want to be able to do Frederica poetry! No, I never said that canons wouldn't be in this (so keep your eyes peeled!). But I suck at poetry (as you are about to see). Anyone who can teach me not to suck at poetry will win a basket of love :D;; Thanks!

**H I N T . CO R N E R**

_I've watched this before_

_This loop of endless tragedy_

_I've seen this before_

_Hinamizawa, the perfect hell_

_I've heard this before_

_Their cries drowning in the night_

_And now it happens again_

This story is not set in Japan

Akasaka had four children

The story takes place after the Anime Good End

**. A R C . T W O . **

_**The Screaming Mirror Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 6 :** Secret's Out

Another morning.

Moaning, Mikan pushed back the covers and rubbed at her aching eyes. It was a Sunday, so there was no school, and the night before, the entire 'family' had crashed at Ayu's while watching chick flics.

"Good morning, Mikan." Chirped the happy voice of Ayu. As usual, the oldest of the friends was also the first one up, cooking breakfast. Mikan nodded, carefully slipping out of bed; Nina and Nanaha were sleeping together, since apparently, chick flics gave Nanaha nightmares, and Mikan did not want to wake them. Kain had been forced to sleep alone in the far corner, where he was still sleeping.

"I hope eggs and toast works for you, Mikan." Ayu said with a laugh, "That's really all I can make nowadays..."

Mikan laughed quietly and shrugged, "I'll eat anything that you make, Ayu-oneechan." She responded, "Can I help?

"Sure. Wanna go pop some toast in the toaster?"

"Ok!" Mikan hummed as she hurried over to the toaster, gently sliding some bread in.

It was the morning of the Watanagashi festival. In order to get themselves ready for the party mood of a festival, the friends had had a movie night, watching a chick flic and then some overly shoujo anime.

"That was a lot of fun last night." Mikan said cheerfully, trying to start a conversation "We should do it again."

"We should." Said Ayu with a light laugh, "Maybe again tonight."

"Oooh. That'd be great." Mikan said happily, "While the adults go drink?"

Ayu laughed a bit louder this time, enough so that Kain woke up.

"Ugggh. You want us to do this... again?" He repeated, rubbing his eyes, "I don't want to watch anymore Splash Splash Love."

"It' a good show if you get passed the clichedness... everywhere." Ayu said with a shrug, "Good for your male mind."

"And it's really sweet." Mikan added, going a bit teary eyed, "You have to watch it!"

"I did watch it and it sucked." Kain grumbled, carefully stepping over Nina and Nanaha. He didn't know why, but for the last couple days, he had really been appreciating how happy and real her smiles were... But he couldn't figure out _why_. After all, her smiles were always real.. right?

"So, what're we cooking?"

"Eggs n' toast" Ayu said in a sing-song voice.

"You love your eggs." Kain muttered.

"And my toast" Ayu added.

Kain frowned a bit. "You're in an awfully cheery mood.. What's got you so happy?"

Ayu blinked, then blushed a bit and giggled, "Oh, uh, I seem different?"

"Now that you mention it... you kind of do." Mikan murmured, putting a finger to her lip. Ayu just turned more red and focused on her cooking.

The two were deep in thought, then Kain perked up a bit.

"Heyy Ayu, since when could you cook eggs?"

She froze.

He continued, "You never make eggs because you said you always burn them.. And that one time I dared you to try you managed to set the poor ex-chicken on fire."

"He brings up a good point!" Mikan exclaimed, pointing sky-er-ceilingward, "I thought you were the crepe and pancake queen!"

"I... uh..." Ayu looked a bit uncomfortable. Lucky for her, the cutesy combined force of Nina and Mikan's wake-up moans redirected everyone's attention, giving Ayu some time to purposely burn an egg.

"Oh no! I burnt it!" She exclaimed, though her acting was pitiful.

Nina rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Ahhh... Oh. Sanyu... What're you doing here?"

Ayu yelped for real this time. Her secret was out and it was only chapter one!

"Auu... Nina!" She hissed, "I'm Ayu! Ayumiii!"

Still only half awake, Nina was pretty easy to manipulate at this time. So she nodded. "Oh... right..."

But two could play at that game.

"Who's Sanyu, Nina?" Kain asked, smirking in the direction of "Ayu", so was obviously getting a bit nervous.

"Mmm... Ayumi's twin." Nina explained, "We grew up together but Sanyu likes to visit because she-"

"OOOOKAY!" "Ayu" exclaimed loudly, drowning out the end of Nina's sentence, "You caught me! I'm Ayu's twin, Sanyu! But you have to stay quiet because outsiders aren't supposed to be here and I could go to jail for coming to Hinamizawa without getting 'checked for purity' first."

There was a moment of silence, then Mikan whined loudly.

"Well, that was no fun. No mystery or anything? I was enjoying this new game."

"I think I win it, though." Kain said quickly,"Because I got her to fess up by manipulating Nina. So, punishment game for Mikan!"

A cutesy giggle came from the 'puppet' and she clapped her hands together, instantly energized again. "Actually, I think I win for knowing how to make her speak up." Nina chirped happily, "It's so cute that you think you could win a game, Kain, but Oyashiro-sama is on my side." She got up, letting Nanaha try to sleep in a bit more. "Don't worry you two, I'll have your punishments ready before we leave for the festival"

Kain and Mikan exchanged worried looks. Nina often had the cruelest punishment games.

"Umm..." Sanyu said quietly, "Toast and eggs, then?"

Everyone nodded slowly. This was certainly an odd start to the morning.

"Miss Ayu, did you sleep well?"

Outside of Hinamizawa, Ayu was spending time with Sanyu's personal bodyguard. Only their bodyguards knew of them switching places. The rich girl yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Mmm... Yeah... I'll need to get ready for switching at the festival today..." She murmured, itching her wrist, "What's for breakfast?"


	7. Broken Mirror

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Note

Do do do

Sooo This chapter will be a bit weird xD I apologize. Not much else to say ; Thanks for continuing to read! I'm gonna try to move this arc a bit quickly... Umm... Lemme know what you think! I apologize for my sucky poetry at the end of the chapterrrr

**. A R C . T W O . **

_**The Screaming Mirror Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 7 :** Broken Mirror

Breakfast was awkward to say the least. Sanyu was bombarded with questions from her new friends, who were all eager to find out how many other times their Ayu has been replaced with sweet Sanyu.

"I've been switching in every once and a while since Ayu moved here." Sanyu ended up explaining, "But this is my first time attending the Watanagashi Festival."

"I met Sanyu waaayyyy back in Jr. high school." Nina had answered when asked how she'd known about Sanyu, "Ayu, Sanyu and I went to school together before we moved to Hinamizawa. But Sanyu wanted to attend a boarding school so never came."

"But boarding school got BOR-ing. So I snuck in here during a break and Ayu replaced me back home and then, well... I guess I found a reason to keep coming back."

The group seemed to find this to be completely understandable. After all, they were a "great lively bunch of Kids" and it was "natural" for Sanyu to want to play with them a lot.

"But Sanyu, are you sure it's ok for you to be here?" Nanaha asked, her voice borderline-concerned, "Hinamizawa is a pure place for getting rid of our demons... You're not purified yet, so you're dragging dirt into our house..."

A laugh came from Sanyu and she shook her head, smiling. "Oh no, I think it's just fine! I've been coming here for ages and everything seems fine! I don't think I have enough dirt to ruin your clean house."

Nanaha twitched, her eyes narrowed and voice cold. "Liar."

The table went silent, attention drawn to the growing tension between Nanaha and Sanyu.

"Come now, Nanaha. Every thing'll be fine! You've got your god, Oyashiro-sama, to clean up after you, right?" Sanyu said cheerfully, trying to keep a carefree and happy attitude in the room.

This didn't help. In fact, Nanaha's eyes seemed to darken and were narrowed more than ever, a clear hint of hatred in her voice when Sanyu spoke so carelessly about her God.

"Oyashiro-sama isn't our maid." Nanaha snapped, before rising from her chair and heading to the door. She slipped on her shoes and opened the door, but was stopped by a call from Nina.

"Nanaha! Nanaha, where are you going?"

The cold girl turned, her eyes reflecting a mind lost in hatred. "To the shrine to pray. You should too, Sanyu."

The white haired twin shuddered, sensing that her and Nanaha might not turn out to be the best of friends.

"So, Sanyu... Is Ayu coming to the festival at?"

"Naw. She's visiting someone today."

After breakfast, Sanyu and Kain had been the ones to go on to the festival. Nina and Mikan had ended up taking up the job of cleaning, and Mikan wanted to try on a summer yukata Sanyu had brought her from the city. Sanyu had then dragged Kain away, telling him that Nina would appreciate some time with her "child".

"So, Kain, I understand this is your first Watanagashi festival as well, correct?" Questioned the girl, who was walking next to him with only about a delicate inch between them, "'guess I can't count on you to show me around."

The boy laughed and shook his head, hands in his pockets. "Naw, I'll just improvise."

Sanyu laughed right along with him, her cheeks turning a bit red when a certain idea came to mind. But she brushed it aside peeking up at the taller boy out of the corner of her eye.

"So, um... When will the others catch up?"

Kain shrugged. "Nina'll want to take pictures of Mikan for that web blog of hers." He said slowly, "And I dunno about Nanaha... I hope she's ok."

"Me too... Oh gosh, I'm so so sorry.. That was all my fault." Sanyu whined, looking at Kain with teary eyes, "Really... I'm so sorry.."

Kain stopped her by grabbing her arm and reached up to pet her head, smiling kindly. "Hey, don't beat yourself up over it, Sany-"

"Ah! Call me Ayu." She said quickly, "I'm Ayu, remember? Don't want to get kicked out..."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Just to be sure, the two glanced around for signs of anyone who might have heard their mistake. When they heard no one, the two sighed in relief.

Click.

Flash.

Sanyu screeched in surprise, jumping at least a foot in the air and then hugging Kain. Or, well, tackling him was more the word. The two fell to the ground, leaving a very startled young woman with her camera to wonder why they were spazzing over a picture.

"Oh my, how cute!" The camera-wielding woman finally said with a laugh, "You react like a shoujo heroine!"

The pair had been focused on separating themselves up until now, both muttering 'sorry' and the like out of sheer embarrassment, but the woman's voice drew them back to her. She was tall and thin, wearing red trim glasses over her brilliant green eyes while her short black hair was clipped back with anime-character hair clips. Her camera was similarly covered in childish anime stickers, and she looked very young, though the pair knew she was no student at their school.

A tourist, maybe?

Sensing their confusion, the Otaku giggled.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Takano Mishi." She explained kindly, "I'm a manga-ka in the making. My editor thought I should base the location of my manga off Hinamizawa."

Well, that explained the hair clips and stickers.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss Takano. I'm Awayuki Ay-"

"Oh, I know that." Takano said rather quickly, "Remember? You helped me pick up my sketches. I just forgot to give you my name in return."

Sanyu blinked, looking to be quite honestly confused.

"A-Are you sure now?" Sanyu asked quickly, "Positive it was me?"

Takano laughed. "Of course! What, do you have an evil twin?"

"Of course she doesn't!" Kain said, almost defensively, at the mentioning of an 'evil twin'. The power behind his voice left both Takano and Sanyu looking a bit surprised.

"Hey Miss Takano, don't go provoking the residents." Cried a flustered little voice from behind them. A man this time, tall and timid looking with messy brown hair, hurried up behind Takano. He panted for a moment, then looked up at them and smiled. "Oh. Sorry. I'm Miss Takano's editor, Ryouno Hatori."

The two teens bowed in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you. This is my friend Shirogane Kain, by the way."

"Ah.. Yes. Pleasure." Takano and Ryouno said in unison, which made them look at each other and laugh. Then, Takano snapped another photo and winked.

"Ah yes. The ideal couple, no? Good material for my manga! Anyways, mind if I ask you some questions?"

The two exchanged looks, then shrugged and nodded.

"Sure. Shoot." Kain said confidently, "What do you wanna know?"

"We want to know more about the mysterious deaths." Ryouno blurted, "We think it'd be a great base for our manga's plot."

Kain looked a tad bit startled at this news.

"Eh? I've never heard of these mysterious deaths." He admitted, looking to Sanyu for an answer, "You?"

Sanyu seemed to be suffering stage fright. It made Kain raise a brow in confusion. Maybe she hadn't heard of them either...?

"Sorry, we have no idea."

"Mmmmm? That's weird. I'd have thought all the locals would know... Especially since tonight..." Takano's voice trailed off, making Kain want to urge her on.

Which he shamelessly did,

"Can you tell us?" He asked hopefully. The Manga-ka laughed again.

"I think Ryouno is more cut out for this. He's the smart one, I just draw. Go on, Ryouno."

A bit flustered by the stop light, Ryouno stepped up a bit and bowed again.

"Uh, well! Ever since Hinamizawa was founded, one person has died and one has vanished tonight, on the night of the Watanagashi, every year." He explained simply, "The people of this town say it's to feed their inner demon's desire for blood."

Sanyu and Kain exchanged confused looks.

"Anything else?" Kain asked hopefully. But Ryouno shook his head sadly.

"No. Sorry. If I discover something, I'll let you know."

"Thanks."

There was a short silence, then Takano whispered something to Ryouno. He whispered back, then the two faced the teenagers again.

"Well, we need to go. Have fun, you two."

"Ah... Ok, we will." Sanyu replied, waving cheerfully, "Thanks for talking to us!"

"You two! Bai bii, you love birds!" Takano replied with another laugh, "Look out for my manga!"

They left Sanyu and Kain to look confused. Then, sighing in relief, they faced each other.

"That was weird... She said that she'd seen me before." Sanyu murmured, "I wonder if that means sis is nearby."

"Maybe... Let's keep our eyes peeled."

Sanyu nodded, then grabbed Kain's hand and led him on, almost at a run. When she turned off the main path, Kain let out a startled yelp.

"Hey! Sanyu, where are we-"

"It's a short cut!" The twin said happily, "If sis is here then we'll find my bodyguard's car parked up he-"

Squish.

Something went squish under their feet.

The twin blinked, daring to look down at what had gone 'squish' under her pink summer flip-flops. Whatever it was was making her feet all gross and sticky..

Gross and..

Sanyu screamed in horror, instantly backing away from the gorey scene right under her feet. An equally as horrified Kain jumped back, putting a hand over his mouth to avoid the urge to throw up.

There lay Ayu, her bleached hair dyed red with her own blood that formed a pool around her, coming from a wound on her chest that still pumped blood. The girl was still alive, if only barely, with tears washing blood off her otherwise reddened face, leaving clean streaks down her face.

"Who..." Her voice was faint, losing life already. The girl's screaming sister fell to her knees by Ayu, reaching shakey hands out to brush hair from her twin's face, wide eyes gushing with tears that left clean spots on the dying girl's cheeks.

Ayu must've recognized her sister's sobs, because the next thing she muttered was "Sanyu" before struggling to seat up, hands around her sister's throat.

"SANYUUU." She hissed hatefully, "WHYYY"

The twin screamed in alarm, feeling her sister's bloody thumbs on her wind pipe. Kain snapped out of his daze to pry them apart, his presence sending Ayu to a sobbing fit.

"Kaiiin! Kain!" She sobbed, "Sanyu... she..."

She drew a deep breath, feeling the effects of moving with her deep wound.

"...Leave." Ayu whispered,"Don't... I..."

"Ayu! Please stop talking!" Sanyu sobbed, bending over her sister, "Ayu!"

The elder sister smiled and reached her bloody hand up to pet her sister's cheek, "Sorry... Sanyu... Just... run."

"I can't leave you like this! I'll get a doctor! I'll call the ambulance, so hold on!"

Ayu weakly shook her head. "Leave... now... I'm sorry."

Her eyes suddenly went dim and she breathed out one last time, wearing a strong smile.

Sanyu stared, horrified, then shook her head and screamed.

**Chapter End**

As the shards fall,

those who try to catch them

find themselves cut by a puzzle

they cannot fix,

drawn into a curse

of a broken mirror


	8. Spreading Sin

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Note

I was really curious about knowing who everyone thought the murderer was until it hit me you can't know 'cause I'm a bad writer. Sorry! ;  


**. A R C . T W O . **

_**The Screaming Mirror Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 8 :** Spreading Sin

Sanyu was sobbing, on her knees by her sister's dead body, covered in his sibling's blood. A confused Kain stood next to her, concerned, confused, disgusted. Ayu had a hole right in the middle of her stomach and, by the looks of things, whoever had killed her had been attempting to disembowel her... Kain guessed that the killer had heard them coming and fled.

Fled...

"Sanyu. Sanyu!" Kain snapped, trying to get her attention again, "Let's go. We'll alert someone... But first you need to wash up."

The twin blinked, rubbing her eyes an accidentally leaving little smudges of blood on her cheeks. "But... why?"

"Whoever killed Ayu had a job to do... They're probably going to try and come back."

"Then I'll catch them come!"

Kain shook his head, holding her hand tightly now. "No. You're going to wash up, I'm going to alert the police."

Sanyu still looked a bit rebellious, but the hard look Kain was giving her helped her to give up. She sighed and nodded slowly.

"Ok... I'll... Go to the house." Sanyu whispered, "And meet you in by the shrine... Ok?"

Kain nodded, "Sure. Be careful, ok?"

Nodding, Sanyu hurried off down the road, leaving her friend behind. When she was out of view, Kain took off his coat to cover Ayu's face and then hurried off to get some help.

It was getting late when Kain found her. He needed some support, some advice, so went to the only head of house that he could trust.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Kain?" Nina asked, turning around to Kain with a game gun held in her arms, a kitsune mask over half of her face and held in place with an elastic string. Next to her, Mikan had a similar mask on her face and Nanaha wore a fox ear head band, licking a bright red candy apple and holding another one that he assumed belonged to Mikan.

Mikan's yukata was bright yellow with flower patterns rising from the bottom.

"I-I need to...Talk to you, Nina." He said slowly, breathless and shaking. The more he thought about Ayu's now lifeless body in the woods, waiting for a proper burial, the more scared he got.

Nina tilted her head and handed Mikan the fake gun, then walked silently over to Kain and guided him a few yards from the noise of festival games.

"So, care to tell me what the trouble is?" Nina asked. Kain was shaking worse then ever.

"It's... Ayu... She's..."

The miko's eyes softened a bit and she put a finger to her friend's lip. "Why don't we go to the shrine? Oyashiro-sama will want to hear this." She explained, wearing a kind but sad smile.

Kain gulped and nodded, trying not to cry.

Still smiling, Nina took his hand and pulled him away from the life of the festival and dragged him to the quiet shrine. There, Sanyu was already waiting, curled up in a little ball and sobbing.

Nina hurried over to give her a hug. It surprised Kain a bit that Nina seemed to have a full understanding of the situation, as if she'd been there when they discovered Ayu.

"It's ok, Sanyu. It's ok." Nina whispered soothingly. She whispered something else, something that made Sanyu gasped and sit up in a hurry, looking fearfully into her friend's calm eyes.

"Nina... Nina, what's going on?" Kain asked, alarmed by Sanyu's sudden change of expression. The white haired girl had stopped crying and was just sitting, staring sadly ahead.

Shaking her head, Nina smiled weakly.

"It'll all be over soon... Please, don't worry."

If her words did had any more of a calming effect than they did a frightening one, it was all spoiled when Nanaha seemed to appeared from no where, eyes narrowed a bit and a glittering cleaver at hand.

"It's because there is dirt in Oyashiro-sama's Hinamizawa that Ayu was killed." The young girl said, her cold voice drawing the attention of her friends, "Just like Miss Takano and Ryouno, Sanyu was bringing sin into our house."

Sanyu looked startled at the mentioning of the manga team they'd met earlier.

"E-Eh? What do you mean, Miss Takano ad Ryouno..."

"They're dead." Nanaha said bluntly, casting her gaze at the ground, "Killed because they wanted to make money off the story of Oyashiro-sama... Killed because they wanted to share his secrets."

Dead? The only one who didn't look surprised was Nina, so Kain assumed he announcement must have been made earlier...When Nina was playing, she must've been trying to get Nanaha and Mikan to cheer it up... It seemed like a perfectly Nina-ish thing to do, anyway.

"How did they...?"

"Ryouno clawed out his throat for some reason." Nina explained quietly, her voice sad, "Takano was vanished but left a suicide note by his body."

"When...?"

Nina didn't answer Kain's question. She couldn't, because Nanaha spoke up again.

"Poor poor Ayu. Oyashiro-sama must have been aiming to strike you down, Sanyu." She said in a dark voice, "But he got her instead."

The idea made Sanyu's eyes widen and she began shaking her head, breaking into a sobbing fit and leaning to Nina to bury her head in her friend's shoulder. Nina closed her eyes and pulled Sanyu into a protective hug, giving Nanaha a scolding glare.

"Sanyu has been through a lot, Nanaha. Please don't go bullying her like this."

The younger girl laughed, her crazy laughter making Kain shudder and Sanyu cower more than ever.

"Bullying? I'm far from bullying her! I'm just making sure this scum knows that all of these deaths have been triggered by her! You pushed Oyashiro-sama over the edge! He could handle a bit of sin, the sin of that manga woman and her editor, but you...! Coming and dishonoring him on his special day...!"

"Enough!" Nina snapped. Her tone made Nanaha's eyes snap back to normal and the younger girl stepped back. Her eyes watered a bit.

"No... Nina-mama, don't stand up her! Please! You'll get all dirty too!" She pleaded.

Nina looked away. "Nanaha... I'm already as dirty as a person can get... No sin can drag me any further now."

Nanaha whimpered, but Nina didn't look up and say she was lying, which the young cleaver girl wanted more than anything. She just sighed and hugged Sanyu protectively. Seconds later, Kain walked over to join the protective barrier around the sinful young woman, who began sobbing again.

"Fine..." Nanaha whispered, "Fine! See if I care! At the very least, I'll protect Mikan! I won't let this sin spread anymore!" And with that said still carrying her cleaver, Nanaha turned and ran off, leaving the three to comfort Sanyu and mourn the lose of three innocent lives.

The sun was setting the Higurashi cried out in harmony with the screams of a young girl as the sin left her veins.

**Chapter End**

_A broken mirror is bad luck_

_seven years of misery_

_a broken mirror is bad luck_

_seven lives made miserable_

_Three more to go_


	9. Six Sins

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Note

Whee... Not much to say. I hope to end this Arc with the next chapter so... Yay! ;

**. A R C . T W O . **

_**The Screaming Mirror Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 0 9 :** Six Sins

It was hard not to hear the sound of a scream of a young girl, even when it was mixed with the screams of cicadas. Birds flew from their perches, joining the screams, though the crows were just excited about the fresh new blood and flesh they got to enjoy.

"I'm going after Nanaha." Nina said quietly, slowly pulling away from Sanyu and Kain. The white haired girl moved her head to Kain, resting it on his chest and blushing under her tears.

"You coming back?" Asked Kain, who was turning a bit red as well. His brown haired friend was silent for a moment, then shrugged.

"I'll try. Wait a few minutes, ok? If I don't come back, go down to the festival and I'll probably be there waiting." With this said Nina hurried off into the forest.

Minutes passed. Kain and Sanyu didn't move, waiting patiently for Nina. Sanyu had drifted off a bit when the first person came by.

It was a panting Mikan, who had obviously run quite fast up the steep hill to the shrine.

"H-Have you seen Nina?" Mikan asked, still breathless.

"Mm. She went that way to find Nanaha..." Kain said slowly, "But, Mika-."

"Thanks, gotta run!" The little girl cut him off and headed off.

Silence took over once more.

Cicadas warned of a coming evening. It was the sound of their cries that made Sanyu wake up. It had been a good hour or two and Kain had not moved, staring in the direction Nina had gone.

"Auu... Sorry, did I snore...?" She asked nervously, face redder than before. Kain turned to her and shook his head.

"Naw, I didn't hear anything... It's weird. I thought Nina and Nanaha would be back by now."

Sanyu gave a little nod, moving her head and sighing. "She did say she might go right down to the festival... Let's go find her."

For a moment, Kain's only response was silence. Then he nodded and gently pushed Sanyu back so that he could get up. She followed slowly as he headed down the hill, his pace fairly quick.

_He's really worried about her._

_More than about me._

For some reason, that simple observation made Sanyu feel a bit cold inside.

Kain and Sanyu could not find Nina or Nanaha anywhere. But their arrival did not go unnoticed. When the two came down frown the shrine hill, a swarm of concerned adults came from seemingly no where, embracing the two in tight, protective hugs.

"Oh thank goodness!" Exclaimed Kain's worried mother, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Kain honey! We thought you'd died!"

"Eh? How come?" Kain and Sanyu asked together. The hugging had stopped, but all the village adults had formed a circle around the two.

"There have been five deaths tonight, Kain! Five!" His mother was sobbing again when she came to hug him once more. It was at this time that she properly noticed Sanyu.

The woman stared at her, then screamed and backed away.

"Oh my god! It's Ayu!" She exclaimed in terror, "B-But how? We found your dead body..."

The little fact reminded Sanyu of watching Ayu die and she hung her head.

"No... That was my sister... I'm Sanyu..."

Gasps were exchanged among the crowding adults.

"Impossible! We found Sanyu's dead body too!"

"Right up by Nanaha's."

"Where we found Nina..."

Kain's eyes went a bit wide at the mentioning of Nina. "Is she ok?!"

Sad faces turned to Kain, though Sanyu turned her sad face away from he.

"Miss Takano, Mr Ryouno, Nanaha, Ayu and... Sanyu... we found dead. Nina was alive but in a state of shock. She's with some adults calming down by the ice cream stand... But..." The adult who was talking turned to Sanyu, "How can you be here...? You're supposed to be dead..."

Sanyu shook her head, indicating she didn't know how this worked out either.

"I-I don't know... S-Sorry..."

The adults murmured among one another, then a kind hand patted the backs of the two teens and began guiding them away, towards the ice cream stand where Nina sat.

Her eyes were blank and she was staring at an ice cream cone she held in her hand. When she heard their footsteps, Nina looked over at her two friends and tried to smile.

"Sanyu... Kain...! You're ok..." She whispered, before licking the ice cream and looking away.

Tears rolled off her cheeks.

"Nina... What happened...?" Sanyu asked, walking over to her friend and taking the seat next to her. They sat under a tent in folding chairs with the dark coming over them.

"I... I..." She shook her head, dropping the ice cream on the ground and covering her face. Nina began to sob, so Kain hurried over to try and comfort her.

"It's ok... Sorry for asking.." Sanyu whispered, "I'm so sorry... Nina..."

Nina looked up at her friends, then gave Sanyu a tight hug and continued to cry. "Ayu..! Nanaha!!!" She wailed. This listing of names ended with her crying suddenly cutting off and she sat up straight, looking alarmed.

"Mikan!" She exclaimed, "Where's Mikan?!"

Kain and Sanyu gasped.

"Wait, you mean you never saw her?" Sanyu asked, sounding alarmed.

Nina shook her head, "Why would I...?"

"She was looking for you." Kain explained quickly, "She should have been..."

The news made Nina stand. "Oh no...She's lost! I have to go get her!" And off she went. Or, off she tried to go. Kain grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Wait! Nina, you shouldn't go alone with a killer on the loose..."

"It's fine! I'll be just fine!" Nina argued, trying to break away from his grip.

"How do you know?! You could be killed!" Kain retorted; he was clearly worried, which just added more to Sanyu's growing discomfort.

"I just know! Now let me g-Gya!" Kain had yanked Nina close and grabbed her other hand, the simple movement seeming to stomp out Nina's will to fight back.

"If you're going, I will too. It'd be better if there were two people out." He explained. Hearing this, Nina turned a bit red and glared stubbornly while Sanyu gasped and walked over to them.

"Me too! I'll come too!"

"No, Sanyu. We need someone to tell the adults where we are."Kain said firmly, "Nina and I will go. I can't leave her alone to guard."

That was that. Sanyu had no time to argue as Kain and Nina dashed off , hoping to sneak past the 'adult radar' by going through the woods and taking another route to the shrine. She watched in shock, letting Kain's last words replay over and over in her head.

Over and over.

_Nina and I._

_I can't leave __**her **__alone._

Sanyu clenched her fists and took off after them.

This was supposed to be _her _happy ending.

**Chapter End**

_A girl's heart is a delicate thing_

_And when broken into seven pieces_

_A mirrored heart's sin_

_Is everyone's price to pay_

_Can you believe?_


	10. Wrong End

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Notes

Another arc has ended Hurray! I hate how this ended, personally. Too much unorganized action. As I'm sure you can tell by the end of the chapter, there will be two answer arcs to this. One will revisit the murders so you know what really happened and why and the other will pick up where this ends.

I need to know everyone's favorite Keiichi pairing! Rika too. Ok? Thank you!!!

**. A R C . T W O . **

_**The Screaming Mirror Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 1 0 : Wrong End  
**

It was dark when they reached the shrine, having struggled to evade cops investigating the other murders and, at the same time, be untraceable. It'd be bad news if the cops picked up on them and made them suspects for the murder; Nina's mental health would probably not appreciate being accused of killing those important to her.

Speaking of her dying sanity.

Nina was shaking all over, eyes wide and face so pale Kain often worried she'd died, or was a ghost haunting him. Her snow white fingers stuck out in the dark as if they were glowing, both a blessing (it was hard to lose her) and a curse (it scared the crap out of him!).

"M-MIKAN!" She finally screamed, hoping for a reply. No one replied to her.

No one.

Kain realized Nina was definitely losing it, to put a hand on her shoulder, afraid she'd slip under the cloaks of shadows and vanish from his sight, despite her unnaturally white skin.

"Nina... Maybe Mikan went back..."

The idea was denied instantly.

Objection.

"NO! She's here, I know she is..."

"How?" Kain asked,worried that Nina was in deed losing her mind.

Her slow walk through the woods stopped and she turned to face Kain, eyes dark and her voice cold and sad. "I just know." She whispered, before letting out a gasp and screaming.

Kain turned sharply, quickly taking note of the source of her terror. A ghostly white figure, more so than Nina, was reaching for Kain, trying to push him away. He reacted quickly by turning around and grabbing Nina protectively, so that when he fell,the knife the figure swung did not hit the scared girl.

For a brief second, the attacker did nothing. The person had obviously not expected this move, of Kain bringing Nina down too, but then again...

She had expected it deep down.

And it only made her all the more angry.

Sanyu kicked the two, trying to separate them, but something in Kain had snapped. Nina was suddenly his top priority; so he held on to her tight.

"Eh? Is that you, Sanyu-san? Ninee?" Asked an innocent voice, a voice that broke the violent tension and forced the three older teens into silence. It was Mikan, her hair tangled and cloths dirty from walking through the woods so long. A slight smile crossed Sanyu's face and she rushed forward, hoping to get Nina to break away on her own by threatening Mikan. She had suspected right, since Nina pushed Kain away and scrambled to her feet.

"MIKAN!" She exclaimed, "MOVE!"

The younger girl reacted, stepping back right as Nina tackled Sanyu to the ground. Kain had gotten up by this time and was standing by Mikan, unsure of what to do for Nina.

"ARGH! LET ME GO." Sanyu screamed, attempting to shake Nina off her. Nina was silent, then screamed. Sanyu had rolled her over and stabbed her shoulder. This gave Kain reason to act and he stepped over the two girls, trying to pull Sanyu back. Mikan rushed to Nina, sobbing.

"Ninee! You're bleeding!"

Nina smiled faintly and reached out to pet her head, though her arm was, in deed, bleeding freely.

"Mikan, go get the police."She ordered, "I'll be back soon."

The little girl blinked, then shook her head. "I can't leave! You're bleeding!"

Sanyu was being too quiet. Suddenly, Kain's grip on her loosened and she dashed forward, trying to stab Nina again. Mikan noticed this and put herself between them, screaming when the knife plunged into her back.

Kain watched helplessly, too stunned to move, as Nina caught her dying 'daughter'. He could only bring himself to move when Sanyu tried to stab Nina again.

_ No one else was going to die._

He rushed forward and, this time, he tackled Sanyu, with Nina screaming for him to please stop. Kain couldn't quite understand why until he felt Sanyu's knife sink into his chest. The boy screamed, joined by the alarm shrieks of Sanyu.

"KAIN! Kain, what happened?!" She asked, genuinely concerned. She seemed oblivious to the fact her knife was still between two ribs, his blood leaking out of the wound and own her hands. It only occurred to her that her hands were soaked in blood when she tried to push white hair out her eyes, leaving bloody streaks on her face.

"Kain...? Kain..." She repeated. He wasn't responding. Nina got up and walked over, shaking all over, joining the name calling.

"Kain... Oh god... Kain!" The brunette reached out to shake him, but Sanyu ripped out her knife and swung it at Nina, who miraculously managed to pull back in time. Her friend's blood trailed after the knife, sending drops onto her face.

"STAY BACK! DEMON WOMAN!" Sanyu shrieked, her voice beginning to melt into sobs, "It was supposed to be you! This wasn't what I wanted!!! KAIN! KAAIN!"

His body went limp and fell, his head on Sanyu's lap. She continued to sob, bending over to rest her blood stained cheek on his.

"It wasn't supposed to be like thiiss!!!" She repeated in a loud scream. Nina watched, her eyes hiding her tears, Mikan's dead body cradled protectively in her arms now. The only time she moved was when Sanyu gently pushed Kain aside to stand. The white haired girl too a deep breath, walking on shaking legs to a tree.

"S-Sanyu? What are you doing?" Nina asked, trying to smile when she turned to let her gaze follow her friend, "Listen... It's going to be ok. I promise..."

Sanyu shook her head. "No it won't. I can't blame her for the other murders... I'll definitely get the death sentence for this mess..."

Nina blinked, confused.

"But I can beat them to it." She continued, resting the knife on the tree so the blade pointed at herself, "And be with Kain... There's still time for a happy ending."

Catching on, Nina gently, but quickly, placed Mikan by Kain and hurried over to Sanyu. "S-Sanyu! Come on, you're not serious... I... I forgive you! I forgive you! So please... Let's go to the police... I'll even cover for you!"

Sanyu shook her head and smiled at Nina, smiling faintly. "No way. I can't do that..." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she turned to face her knife, "You might want to look the other way, Nina. This might be traumatic."

Nina opened her mouth to protest and extended an arm, but Sanyu wouldn't be convinced. It only took a quick, swift dive forward. The knife went through Sanyu's throat, but that wasn't enough. She pulled back, panting. There was no turning back now... So she launched towards the knife again. And again. Nina watched, eyes growing more and more wide with every stab. Then, Sanyu's eyes rolled up and her smile was forever plastered on her face when she fell forward and to the ground, landing in a heap by Mikan and, more importantly, Kain.

Her friend stared, expression darkening and tears freely falling.

"Yes... I agree..." She whispered, walking over to the grouped bodies of her friends and peering down, "It wasn't supposed to end like this..."

_3 days later... June 22nd _

"Last night, the experimental village of Hinamizawa was annihilated by a great blaze. However, we do not have details as to why an entire village, as heavily monitored as Hinamizawa was, could be lost in fire given our 21st century technology. More as this story develops."

The television was on. Sitting up in her hospital bed, bandages covering the chest wounds that had been thought to be fatal, Mikan watched the news. Her eyes were blank, her mind still struggling to comprehend the events of the night before.

A worried nurse shuffled in and turned Mikan's TV off, around the time pictures of the victims of "The Watanagashi Murders" began flashing on screen.

"Miss Mikan, how are you doing?" The kind nurse asked, smiling faintly, "You have visitors coming soon."

The little girl did not respond. She just stared at the blank television screen, completely dazed.

With a sigh, the nurse left the room and walked over to another nurse standing by.

"Poor girl... She's in total shock."

"I know... From what I heard, her parents were dead before the disaster and she was living with two other orphans."

"Oh... I guess none of them survived?"

"One was a murder victim... They assume that the other died in the blaze..."

A fairly large group of people walked down the halls. When the nurses spotted them, they smiled and walked over to greet them. After a short chat, the kind nurse lead the people to Mikan's room.

"Mikan? Your visitors are here. This is Miss Furude and this is Mr. and Mrs. Maebara. They're going to be taking care of you when you get out of the hospital."

The little girl blinked and looked up into the kind eyes of the dark haired woman standing over her.

"Good morning, Mikan. Now, why don't you tell us everything that happened?"

**The Crappy Poem**

_Every time it ends._

_Sometimes in smoke._

_Sometimes in gas._

_And every time I die._

_Sometimes stabbed here._

_Sometimes gutted there._

_The only thing that stays the same_

_is that when I cry again._

**Hints for you!**

I love Triplets!

Kain 'is' Keiichi -cop out

'Rika' can be killed by up to three or four 'forces'. It's not constant.


	11. Arc 3: The White Box

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again 

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Notes

Not much to say

Couple vote:

RikaxKeiichi- 1

RikaxAkasaka- out ruled! Sorry, I'm keeping Akasaka with his wife this time

KeiichixHanyuu- 1

KeiichixMion- 1

Please keep voting! It doesn't really matter, since all I need is for Rika and Keiichi to be married to someone.

Also, if anyone wants, I'm thinking of posting this bios of the characters at the end of chapters now. So if you're curious about anyone, let me know. I'll try to include 3 hints in the bios to help with solving the mystery!

**. A R C . T H R E E . **

_**The Bleeding Promise Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 1 1 :** The White Box

Brushing her black hair was not supposed to be a team effort. It was a Saturday and Mikan was having her hair brushed by Nanaha. The two girls were home alone that morning; Nina had a six AM to noon shift, since she was struggling to collect the cash to buy her 'children' yukata. With Watanagashi only a week away, there could not possibly be a better time to start. However, it meant Nina was spending more time working than she was sleeping, so the two younger girls had taken it upon themselves to 'babysit' their crazy caretaker. That meant cooking, cleaning and groceries were their job while Nina brought in the cash.

"Hmmm... It's so nice out. We should go somewhere." Mikan mumbled, a finger pressed thoughtfully to her lip, "Duncha think, Nanaha?"

The blonde nodded, giggling and pulling some of Mikan's long black hair to the side, trying to put it in long pigtails, "Agreed. But where to?"

Mikan made another thoughtful sound, then shrugged and closed her eyes. "I don't know... umm... How about... The old dumpster? Nina always complains about how our apartment echoes. We can get a new treasure!"

Smiling, Nanaha swayed from one side to the other and nodded. "Oooh! Yes yes! Mikan, you now just what Nanaha likes to do, don't you?"

Laughing, the blonde hugged Mikan from behind, pulling her close. The two girls were together for a moment longer, laughing and smiling, before Nanaha loosened her group and blushed.

"Sorry, Mikan... I just can't help it sometimes!"

Mikan giggled and shook her head. "Oh no, it's fine, Nanaha. I know how you feel..."

Maybe it was because both girls were orphans, and often found themselves alone while Nina struggled to support their tiny family, but Mikan and Nanaha were extremely close. It had only been a little over a year since Nina's parents had died, but even before than, the shrine maiden's family had been the ones to take care of the young orphans. But with her parents dead, Nina became the head of both her old family and the little family of the familyless. Meanwhile, Nanaha's parents had not been permitted into Hinamizawa and abandoned their 'demon daughter' when they learned of the ogre blood in her veins. Mikan's family of four had been reduced to a family of three when her parents were killed by the curse only two years ago and her older brother vanished.

But that was the past.

This was the present, Mikan reminded herself, and a happy future was waiting for her beyond the horizon.

_Everything would be okay!_

Minutes later, the two girls stood in front of the dumpster. It was like a mountain of trash and treasure, piled up and up until Mikan could swear it had to reach heaven. It just had to. Staring at it, she almost wanted for her parents to come walking down the rusty 'staircase'.

Her brother too.

"UWAAH! SO AWESOME! Mikan, LOOK!" Exclaimed Nanaha, her fists balled and eyes like glittering stars. She was back to her usual swaying, giggling excitedly. Mikan turned to look at her, a faint smile crossing her lips, then let her frown return when Nanaha took off, climbing over old cars and cabinets to get a good look around.

"There's a new mound, Mikan! Two!" Nanaha called, yanking Mikan out of any memories of her family she might have managed to dig out, "Come on!"

The little girl smiled and nodded, running forward after Nanaha. She passed a number of treasures, most of which looked easy to prepare. There was a nice dresser with a floral pattern on it, a mirror still in tack, a little bed and even a little bedside table. And for 'junk', they all looked pretty fancy...

"Wow... Who would throw these out?" Asked Mikan, walking over to a shelf with a fox design running down the side, "It looks brand new."

"Don't know." Nanaha admitted, "I wonder if Nina would like it..."

The two girls 'hmmm'ed thoughtfully, then looked at each other and grinned.

"Let's talk to Kain!" Nanaha chirped, "We'll need his strength to move it anyway!"

Mikan laughed lightly and nodded, not feeling like bringing up the fact she was quite confident she could move it herself.

"Sure. But where would we find him?" She asked, tilting her head.

"He'll probably want to walk Nina home with Ayu. So let's camp out at the Cafe." Nanaha suggested happily, winking, "Besides, the baseball team is here. We could get a free snack!"

Mikan turned red and her mouth fell open. "N-Nanaha! What are you suggesting?!" She asked. Her friend just giggled and pet Mikan's head.

"You know what I'm talking about! Two cute girls... How can they not treat us?"

"Th-That's mean! We don't now them!!!"

"Then we'll guilt-trip Kain." Nanaha decided, turning and skipping off, "Come on, Mikan"

Nanaha had climbed out of the dumpster and was waving to Mikan. The black haired girl looked up and smiled faintly, walking after her. But something caught Mikan's eye, inspiring her to stop. There was a box stuck under a table, in between broken bicycles and folding chairs. It was painted white with pink and red hearts all over it...

She just couldn't ignore it.

"One second, Nanaha!" Mikan called, running over to the box. She got on her knees, careful since she was standing on nothing but randomly piled trash, and reached under to pull out the box. Once she had it, Mikan opened it. Inside was a necklace, book and teddy bear keychain, all resting on a mound of folded clothes.

"Hurry up, Mikan! We'll miss our chance to mooch!" Nanaha called, getting a bit impatient. Deciding not to hold her friend up anymore, she just took out the necklace and keychain and slipped the box back under. She'd deal with the book and clothes later. As she ran to catch up with Nanaha, Mikan put on the silvery necklace and attached the keychain to her right pigtail. Once she'd caught up with Nanaha, the two girls raced off to the cafe. Mikan never had a chance to realize just how much the little white box would impact her life.

_They were good times_

_They were bad times_

_And now, they are hidden times_

_I don't want to open again._

_Open the lid and release the demons._

_The demons of my past._


	12. Memory

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Notes

I think my pairing will be KeiichixRika unless I get votes saying otherwiseFufufu. Sorry for not updating recently. I'll try to get back in the habit of updating constantly D

**. A R C . T H R E E . **

_**The Bleeding Promise Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 1 2 :** Memory

The necklace, Mikan noted, looked oddly good on her. It had a thin, delicate silver chain with one tiny gold link and a cutesy black heart hanging off it. The heart was made of some simple but shiny stone an d had a deep scratch across it that made it look like someone had tried to write with it. But even with the scratch, it was gorgeous and made Mikan feel like a pretty adult.

As for the teddy bear keychain, she'd tied her hair back in pigtails and the keychain hung from the left pigtail. It swung with every movement and was surprising light weight, barely bothering her at all.

"Wow, Mikan. Did you really just find that?" Nanaha asked in awe when she saw the necklace and keychain, her eyes sparkling all ready, "We HAVE to go back before dark and see if those pretties had friends in the trash, okay?!"

Mikan giggled and nodded. "Of course. I want to look around more too. Lots of good junk today, huh?"

Nanaha 'mm mm'ed and nodded, fists clenched and eyes still starry, "Yes! Yes yes yes!"

None of the rest of the conversation stuck out to Mikan. They chatted together about finding a cute toy-friend for the teddy bear and maybe even a matching necklace for Nanaha; they decided it looked like a couple's necklace, so surely there was a match for it somewhere. When they reached the cafe, Nanaha adjusted Mikan's hair and clothing to be "more adorable" and then dragged her in. As predicted the baseball team was present, as was Kain and Ayu. They had a booth not too far away and still had their menus.

"Perfect timing. Oh Kain!" Nanaha called, walking with Mikan following, "We're hungry."

Of course, Kain frowned playfully at first. "So? What do you want me to do about?"

"Offer to buy us food before I go and talk to the baseball kids." Nanaha said, a slightly threatening tone in her voice. One could assume something had happened in the past because the threat worked; Kain scooted into the booth so Mikan could squeeze in next to him while Nanaha took the spot next to Ayu. They hadn't even gotten to look at the menus when Mikan's new necklace was noticed.

"Ah? Mikan? Where'd you get that?" Ayu asked, perking up and staring at the necklace. Proud to have her lady-like jewelery noticed, Mikan giggle and leaned forward a bit to make it easier to see from across the table.

"I found it!" She exclaimed happily, "In a white box!"

Ayu seemed to twitch a bit, leaning forward to get a better look. "Mmm...? You don't say... In the dump?"

"Uh-huh!" Mikan was very pleased with herself and thought nothing of Ayu's running her fingers all over the pendent, "Doesn't it make me look grown up?"

Kain chuckled and nodded, leaning back with his hands behind his back, "Sure does. You look old enough to be married off."

Catching on to the joke, Nanaha laughed and nodded, "In deed-y you do, Mikan! I wonder if Hinamizawa supports same-sex marriage..."

"It won't matter if I get her first, Nanaha."Kain replied, the teasing making Mikan giggle and blush in a giddy fashion. It felt kind of nice to be a "big girl".

Ayu continued to touch the necklace. In the middle of the teasing she realized she could not lean any closer, so instead, Ayu jerked the chain to bring Mikan closer.

She squeaked and tried to pull back a bit, but Ayu just tugged more.

"H-Hey! A-Ayu! That hurts!" She whimpered, feeling the chain dig into the back of her neck, "Let go!"

When Ayu didn't let go, but instead, pulled the chain even closer, Kain and Nanaha dropped the joking.

"Hey, Ayu, you're hurting her..." Nanaha said quietly, "Please stop..."

"Yeah, Ayu. What are you thinking?"

"The scratch!" Ayu exclaimed in a whispery voice, her eyes losing any sanity as her finger crept up the chain, soon around Mikan's neck. It sent chills down the girl's spine to have two thumbs searching for her windpipe and she began to make alarmed, childish noises as she tried to protest.

"Ayu! Ayu, stop that!" Nanaha pleaded, noticing the terrified look like Mikan's eyes. Twenty seconds with no air...

"Ayu! AYU!" Kain was now trying to reach over the table to Ayu, but his arms weren't long enough at the current angle.

... Twenty five...

"May I take your order...?" A half awake very-out-of-it six-hour-shift Nina asked, walking over with a tray.

"Nina! Do something!"

... Thirty...

Mikan was getting dizzy when Nina snapped awake and dove forward, landing on Nanaha's lap when she tackled Ayu. For the first milliseconds of the fall, Ayu took Mikan with her, but her grip loosened in surprise and Kain yanked Mikan away and into a protective hug before Mikan banged her head on the table.

A few seconds of silence, except for the sound of Mikan gasping for breath and Ayu's crazy breathing becoming normal again.

Then, with a unison sigh of relief, Nina got up, Ayu got up, and Kain let Mikan go.

All the curious eyes of customers left the scene, embarrassed by their gossip-y habits.

"W-Well! Can I get an order now?"

"I'll have a girl on my lap!" One of the baseball players called in response to Nina, who turned bright red and looked down.

"Th-that's not on the menu..." She said quietly.

"But if it was..." Nanaha and Kain, the local perverts, said in unison, "And maybe it is for friends...?"

Nina flushed.

"H-Hey! Order something!" She said firmly, trying to be brave and threatening, "Okay?"

Kain and Nanaha chuckled evilly, still struggling to brighten the mood. But Mikan was still a bit shaken. No, _very_ shaken. Ayu had almost strangled her to death!

"Mikan? Would you like a chocolate shake?" Nina asked, leaning over her and smiling. The comforting warmth of her 'Ninee' made Mikan relax a bit and she nodded.

Nina smiled and petting her head. "Okay then. It's on me. And I'll get some ice for your neck."

"Eeee... Yow." Kain commented when he looked at the red marks left by the chain, "What a battle scar."

"I-Is it that noticeable?" Mikan asked shyly.

Kain nodded and Nanaha kicked him from under the table.

"No, it's fine. You still look good."

Obviously not convinced, Mikan let her hair down and sighed.

"Niii... Now you can't see it." She said quietly, trying to laugh and be cheerful like her friends. She didn't know why, but they seemed to want to forget about the whole choking incident... Which was almost disturbing to her.

_Maybe they just want to forget about it... And not upset Ayu? _She thought, biting her lip.

Yeah, that had to be it...

Her train of thought was broken when Nina set the chocolate milkshake down in front of her, straw bent and pointing at her lips.

"My treat." The older girl reminded her, "I'll bring the rest of you what you ordered shortly."

"Your shift is almost over, right, Nina? Order yourself something. I'll pay." Kain offered with a grin. Nina smiled faintly and nodded.

"Okay Only because you're paying." She chirped before turning and heading off to get another order.

As soon as Nina was off work and joined them, the tension melted into happiness. Mikan couldn't see any reason to be sad or scared anyways; Ayu had clearly spazzed. After all, when the 'family' was together like this, nothing could possibly go wrong.

Nothing.

Mikan was too busy enjoying the meal to notice Ayu wasn't joining in.

They finally finished around sunset. After a long conversation, the older kids had chosen to join the evening treasure hunt. Of course, Mikan and Nanaha were ecstatic to know they'd be getting Kain's help with the treasure, but while Nanaha was showing him what to get out for them, Mikan had decided to go and get the rest of the box's contents. Maybe she should give them to Ayu...

_Would she like that? She was pretty scary when she saw the necklace... Did she think it was pretty?_

Mikan's thoughts were a bit confused as she hurried over to the heap of trash in which the box had been. The girl dropped to her knees and pulled out the box, confident that none of the others knew where she was; keeping the box's location a secret was sort of exciting!

"Mmmk The book and however many dresses I can get into my bag now..." She murmured, swinging her back off her back and plopping it on the ground. The process was quick; she didn't want anyone to stumble on to her secret treasures. Each dress was a little too big for her, more suited for an older woman, but Mikan was confident Nina could help her make them a bit smaller. That, or she'd grow into them.

"Ah..." Mikan blinked, having knocked the book out when removing a dress. It opened to a random page, only to reveal its very journal-like format... And an entry that caught her eye.

_"June 19__th__, Awayuki Ayu." _

_Awayuki Ayu..._

Mikan gulped, curiously reaching for the book. From the looks of it, this was Ayu's journal... But...

"Today, Mi-kun didn't show up for our date. He promised me that we'd go somewhere together if I babysat Mikan-chan yesterday."

She shut the book, a reflex to the shock of seeing her name on the journal pages

And "Mi-kun"...

_Mile-nii?_

Something moved behind her and Mikan turned. The sun was setting, casting a shadow over the face of the young woman who stood over her now, a pipe in her hand.

It was Ayu.

**. End Notes .**

This is about to the shortest of the arcs. XD HURRAY! Then I'll actually do an answer arc 3


	13. Box of Curses

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Notes

I think my pairing will be KeiichixRika unless I get votes saying otherwiseFufufu. Sorry for not updating recently. I'll try to get back in the habit of updating constantly D

**. A R C . T H R E E . **

_**The Bleeding Promise Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 1 3 :** Box of Curses

"YEEEEK!" Mikan screamed in alarm, stumbling back when Ayu appeared. She accidentally knocked the white box back as well and it fell between the two boards Mikan had been sitting on and at least three feet under the "surface junk".

Ayu watched this with an innocent look on her face, no longer scary when she moved out of the sun light.

"Ah? Mikan-chan? Are you okay?" She asked with mild concern, walking over. The little black haired girl just shivered and shuddered, her eyes watering and body numb from fear.

"A-ayu-san... I wasn't expecting you." Mikan said quietly, her voice shaking as much as her body, "What brings you...?"

"You were bent over. I thought you were crying."

Really now? Well.. Maybe she could have looked like she was crying when she was reading... But ever since Ayu tried to strangle her, Mikan was getting a bit suspicious of the older girl. Her weird diary was no help.

"No. I was looking for something." She replied slowly.

"Was it that box?"

Mikan twitched and looked up at Ayu. The older girl was glaring.

"Is it?"

"What box?" Mikan returned the hard look. She hadn't mentioned the box to Ayu, had she? So how did she know about it?

"Don't get smart with me, Mikan. You got that necklace out of a box. It's time to put it back."

The tone of Ayu's voice was a bit frightening, but Mikan was feeling stubborn.

"I don't know what you're talking abou-"

"DON'T LIE." Mikan shivered. Ayu was getting really scary... "It's time to put the necklace back, Mikan!"

"You'll just take it for yourself!" Replied the stubborn girl, "There's nothing wrong with me having it!Finders keepers!"

Ayu gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. "It's cursed,Mikan." She said firmly, trying to look calm again, "It's very cursed. That box is a special box for putting cursed things in."

Cursed?

Mikan blinked.

"How...?"

"It just is. Now hurry and put everything you got from there back in."

At first, Mikan didn't want to. But after a second she nodded and let Ayu help her pull the box back up. They put the book, necklace and fallen dress back in. It wasn't until later that evening, when Mikan got home, that she realized she still had one of the dresses in her bag and the keychain in her hair.

_It'll be fine, though. I'll return them in the morning._

And with that optimistic promise, Mikan curled up by Nina and Nanaha to go to bed. What type of curse could come from a silly box anyways?

"It's almost time... I wonder if I'll be able to get it done in time.."

... A mumble...? A voice she couldn't make out...

"I know, I know... But... Just in case..."

... That voice again. She could make out a word. "The curse"

"It will come soon... It always comes soon... The lid has been lifted..."

... Lid... she remembered the box...

"... I'm sorry..."

She drifted off into sleep again.

Mikan woke up with a horrible headache. Her eyes felt heavy from a meaningless sleep. She felt as thought she had not slept a wink... Pushing herself up, the girl began to rub at her eyes and yawn.

"Mmmm!! Good morning!" She said in between yawns and tired grumbles, "Who's up?"

"Both of us." Chirped the voice of Nanaha. The blonde was standing behind the older girl, who sat in a chair at a new desk. Blinking, Mikan stood up and wobbled over to the chair

"What are you doing...? Where'd the desk come from...?" She asked, trying to rub sleepiness out of her eyes, "Ninee?"

"Kain brought it up." Nina said simply, grinning, "Isn't it pretty? I think we should paint it..."

"It'd be fun." Nanaha chirped happily, "But we need to get paint first..."

"And brushes..."

"So what are you doing?" Mikan asked, seeing as this hadn't answered her first question.

Reminded of this, Nina blushed and lifted a paper off of her desk, waving it and laughing nervously. "Well, I'm writing a story for the paper! I get ten dollars a week for my story and fortune telling..."

Mikan nodded slowly, then smiled and reached out for it. "Can I read?"

Nina squeaked and shook her head, leaning back to keep it out of Mikan's grasp... And falling backwards with a shriek of alarm. She hit the ground with such a loud 'thump' that Ayu and Kain came rushing in.

"What happened?!" Ayu asked, before spotting Nina. She crossed her arms and sighed, shaking her head. "Oh. It's you...Nina, you're such a klutz."

"Auuu... Not my fault.." Whined Nina as she pushed herself off the ground, only Kain and Nanaha helping her. Mikan had spotted Ayu, and Ayu had spotted her, so the two were giving each other not-so-friendly looks.

Mikan gulped nervously, wondering if maybe Ayu knew she still had some of the cursed stuff. If she told Ayu, she'd be really angry for sure! It had to be kept secret until she could get it back to the box...

"Well... Since we're all here, and Kain got paid yesterday..." Nanaha started happily when Nina was standing,a mischievous look in her eyes, "Let's get breakfast!"

Nina laughed nervously, her face bright red since Kain was the one holding her up at the moment. "S-sure. I have some money too... HYAK!"

The scream was the result of a... accident? We should so... on Kain's part. His hand had slipped from Nina's shoulder to her poorly developed chest, resulting in the little scream and a bright red, frozen Nina. Everyone turned their attention to this and went silent.

"Oooh... Kain's a perv" Nanaha sang out after a few seconds of silence, grinning slyly, "Pervert!"

"Huh? What... AAH! Nina, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed, moving his hand away.

"I-It's... okay..." Nina replied, still bright red. Nanaha giggled louder.

"So you liked it, Nina?" She teased.

"N-NO!" Nina exclaimed,"B-Bad Nanaha! You shouldn't treat your mother that way!"

Though Ayu and Kain were a bit urked by how Nina felt of herself as a mother, they did not do anything other than watch.

"W-well... I guess I really owe you lunch now." Kain finally said with a nervous laugh. Nanaha and Ayu joined in.

As the group prepared to go to the cafe for breakfast, Mikan lifted her gaze to outside the window. Were those items really cursed? She didn't feel like a curse was coming...But...

"I need to go somewhere first. Can you go ahead and order me some chocolate chip pancakes?" She asked, smiling at the group. Nina smiled kindly and nodded.

"Okay... But please be careful, Mikan. Come back soon... Where are you going?"

Ayu was giving her a hard, scary look... She couldn't say the junk pile, or she would know what was up... But lying to Nina... That was bad... Would something bad like that make the curse happen...?

_Naw. It'll be fine. _

Mikan smiled. "I have a surprise to make" She explained with a wink. The others must have bought this excuse, since they all smiled, nodded, and then headed out. The only one whose gaze lingered was Ayu...

It made her shudder.

_She knows..._

It only took Mikan ten minutes to get there and finish. Ayu's hard stares had scared her witless,giving her just the speed that she needed. It was amazing what some fear could do. Before long, Mikan had stuffed the remaining stuff into the cursed white box.

Smiling, proud of her work, Mikan got up again and headed off. It was a bit unnerving to be the only one out that... It was so early that not many other people were awake yet.

Bang.

Mikan stopped in her tracks and turned around. She had heard something in the junk pile... It was like metal falling on metal... Had something been moved?

But...By who?

"H-Hello!?" She called.

No response.

Shivering, Mikan turned and bolted. This was too much! It was really scary!! As she ran, Mikan could swear she heard someone following her, so picked up the pace.

As she got closer to the town, Mikan noticed something... Odd. It was quiet, but more so than she would have expected it to be...

Suddenly, someone came running towards Mikan. It looked like Nanaha. And she seemed to be crying.

"N-Nanaha?What's wrong?" She asked nervously. Nanaha grabbed her by the shoulders, staring at her hard.

"N-Nina-mama is missing!" Nanaha exclaimed, "It was so scary! This white van... It tried to run into us! And we all ran aside... And then she was gone!"

"E-Eh? What type of van...?" Mikan asked.

"It had no license plate or anything! I couldn't even see a driver! It was a cursed caaarrr!"

Cursed.

Mikan gulped.

"W-Well! Let's get looking!" She said quickly, "Hurry up, Nanaha!"

A cursed van... The curse of her box... Mikan didn't like the way things were adding up.

**End Notes**

Ummm... This ends with the next chapter. Hurray!


	14. Cursed End

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI**

When They **C**ry Again

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. That's Mikan, Nanaha, Nina, Kain, Sanyu, Ryouno, Mishi Takano, and Ayu..

Notes

HURRAY! I finished! Aren't you all excited?

I doubt anyone really cares... But if you have a particular arc, 1-3, that you want the answers too, speak now Arc four is answer-question, sorta like Natsumi's arc, so I'll have time to reorganize the answers to fit your preference

**. A R C . T H R E E . **

_**The Bleeding Promise Chapter**_

**C h a p t e r 0 1 4 :** Cursed End

The group had to regroup. Kain, Ayu, Nanaha and Mikan were all desperate to find Nina, becoming more and more aware of their friend's most likely fate; kidnapping. The festival would be the next day, so most of the town's people were very busy...

"We shouldn't bother them..." Ayu stressed, "I didn't actually see Nina get pulled into the car. She just rolled down the hill..."

"I did too. I think she just ran off." Kain added, his voice possibly being the most concerned, "Anyways, let's split up. Where would she be likely to go?"

Nanaha was the one to answer this, raising her hand. "Home! She would go home! Or to the shrine."

Kain nodded.

"We'll split in twos then. Ayu, you go with Nanaha. I'll take Mikan. That way neither of the two young ladies is alone."

"Hmph! What does that make me?" Ayu grumbled teasingly, "But sure. We'll take the shrine."

"Then we'll check the house." Mikan said firmly, running over and grabbing Kain's arm. It was a real relief that he would be the one taking her; she was still pretty scared of Ayu. Her only worry was that Ayu might hurt Nanaha...

She shuddered at the thought and shook her head, following the older boy as they headed back to the apartments.

They found the apartment completely empty. None of the lights were on, nor were the beds made. Nina's shoes were not by the door and there really wasn't anywhere in the tiny apartment that she could hide.

Kain sighed.

"I guess... We should go to the Shrine and meet the others." He said slowly, glancing over at Mikan. She nodded slowly, walking forward to the desk Nina had been writing at earlier and picking up the slip of paper resting there.

"No time to read, Mikan!" Kain scolded, slapping her hand. The paper slipped out, and the only letter Mikan could read was a bright red "NA" before she was dragged away. She puffed her cheeks childishly and grumbled. Why was Kain acting this way?

Nothing bad could ever happen! They'd find Nina and she'd be laughing and smiling like she always did.

.

As they passed the preparations for the Watanagashi festival, Mikan could already tell that something was up. Everyone was tense and seemed very worried about something. But she couldn't quite put her finger on what. Kain, on the other hand, was completely oblivious as he dragged the black haired girl up the hill and to the shrine.

That's when the trouble began.

There were crows everywhere. Black winged birds were red around their beaks and talons. They cawed and cawed in such a fashion that Mikan was almost forced to shudder, the blood in her body running cold like ice, so much so that she hugged herself and stopped moving.

"Y-you go ahead, Kain." She said quietly, "I'll catch up."

He honestly didn't seem to care. Kain hurried forward, jogging a bit. From the way he moved, Mikan could tell he was excited about seeing that Nina was okay. So why he screamed when he got up to the shrine and looked at the ground, Mikan did not know right away.

"Kain? What's wrong?" She asked in concern, hurrying up to him. Her eyes were fixed on the blonde boy that was staring at the shrine floor, so Mikan didn't realize there was anything under her feet until it went 'squish'.

Squish?

She looked down, noticing something red and sticky on her shoes. It looked lie some sort of thick liquid that had dried a bit in the sun...

Thick red liquid...

By this time, she had a basic idea of what was wrong with Kain. According to common sense, she would not have lifted her head to look at the body that lay naked on the ground. But she did. The sight was enough to bring up her lunch, but not enough to actually make her barf. She covered her mouth and shrieked, stepping back and onto something that squished in a different way.

Flesh.

Nina's body had been torn apart. She lay there in a state of fright, eyes open and tear stains on her cheeks, horror stuck in her expression forever. Her stomach had been ripped open,it seemed, rib cage pried apart so everything inside could be scooped out. Some parts littered the ground, and though the crows were picking away at whatever they could find, Mikan realized some of her 'big sister' had been taken away by something else.

Kain was still staring down in horrified shock when Mikan looked up at him.

"K-Kain! N-n-n-nina is... NINA IS!" She started, shaking all over. Somehow, saying it out loud had brought the cold reality down on her head. Mikan screamed again at the top of her lungs before turning and running. She stumbled and fell, her knees brushing against blood as she toppled off the shrine platform and into the grass.

She finally barfed, sobs mixed in and the two awful scents of blood and old food mixing together to make it all the worse.

Despite this, Kain had not yet moved. It didn't matter to Mikan, though. She was trying to remember. Remember a reason for why this would happen. Why now? Why to them? They were all so happy! What could bring this type of horror into their lives?

"A curse." Whispered a voice behind Mikan. Her eyes went wide. She hated that she recognized it. She hated that. The white haired woman had a strange look on her face... or rather, in her eyes. It was like the life and emotion had all been sucked dry. Her pale arm held something, a long pole. The pole was dripping in blood.

Being too terrified to think straight, Mikan came up with an explanation. Clearly, Kain had too, since he finally moved and went to strangle Ayu.

"What type of sick and twisted thing were you thinking, Ayu?! First you strangle Mikan and now... What do you call what you did to Nina?!"

Mikan had to agree. "Murder" was too soft a word for the mess that lay there for Oyashiro-sama to deal with...

"Oyashiro-sama.." Ayu murmured. Mikan gasped,making another connection. Before, Ayu had mentioned the curse... And she seemed to have noticed that Mikan still had the cursed items... Had this been an attempt to keep Oyashiro-sama's curse at bay? To please him?

The idea brought more tears to Mikan's eyes, tears she began to choke on.

"You didn't have to kill her!" She screamed at Ayu between sobs, getting up and wobbling over to try and help in any way that she could, "Ninee wasn't at fault!"

"Nanaha..." Ayu was just talking to herself,it seemed, almost unable to hear her friends. After ten seconds of trying to break her neck with his hands, Kain just shoved her aside so that she fell to the ground.

"What about Nanaha?! Where is she?!" He demanded.

Ayu didn't reply. She just lay on the grass, having landed inches from Mikan, and stared ahead into nothingness.

Mikan shivered.

"N-no way... Oh... no... Nanaha!!" She called, turning to run away. Before she could start the run, though, Ayu grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the ground. Mikan screamed again in horror and tried to scramble away, but Ayu was holding her too tightly.

"Quiet." She ordered. Her voice had gone from almost lifeless to firm. Mikan shivered and sobbed, too scared to move. This obviously wasn't good enough for Ayu, because she lifted the pole and brought it down hard on Mikan's legs.

One time.

Two times.

Three times.

Hearing something crack, Mikan broke into a new fit of tears. Ayu was strong! She was almost sure her leg was broken now, and she couldn't run... It hurt so badly that she couldn't find the strength to make sound, just fall to the grass and let tears run down.

Ayu rolled her under the shrine platform before getting up and walking over to Kain...At least, Mikan guessed she was going to Kain. From under the shrine's floor, she could hear Ayu walking around and then they mumbled... Or rather, talked and argued, but Mikan was hurting too badly to put words together.

"Nina... protect... Killed her... Sorry... Screaming... They're come back... Hide... No..." Fragments of the conversation reached her, but she couldn't piece them together properly.

Minutes passed.

They hadn't moved yet. Their bodies still blocked the sun from passing between cracks, so Mikan could vaguely tell where they were. Nina's blood slipped through cracks in the boards as well, dripping both close to and far from Mikan.

Mikan's brain was beginning to shut down the nerves in her leg and spare her some hurting. It was just enough so that, when Kain tapped his foot on the ground for her attention, Mikan could hear.

"Mikan, don't move. Just stay there." He said calmly.

How could he be calm?!

Nina was dead! He was chatting with her murderer!

"Fall asleep." It seemed like he was suggesting it.

He sounded really calm...

And for some reason, Mikan felt a bit calm too. Even though he couldn't see it, she nodded and closed her eyes. The pain and terror must have really worn her out, because even when she heard a thunder of feet above her and the bangs of guns, she was able to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

.

.

"I can't believe that it would happen here.."

"Me neither... So young..."

"And talented...Have you seen this story?"

The paper was passed among the adults crowded in the little room, their clothes black and hearts heavy with grief. The deaths of children hurt everyone, whether they knew the deceased young ones or not.

"Ah.. Yes. She was publishing this in the paper."

"Oh? Really? I'm sure I read it...What's it called?"

"When Cicadas Cry Again." The title was read straight of the paper by the woman holding it, "Or rather... Higurashi no Naku koro ni Sai. By Nina Nijihara."

_It wasn't you fault_

_that you found it_

_It wasn't your fault_

_that I died_

_It wasn't her fault_

_she tried to save you_

_It wasn't our fault_

_at least you tried._

_But was it my fault_

_that it happened_

_again?_


	15. Arc 4: Amazing

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni SAI

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Fanfiction**

When They **C**ry Again

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. Though they accidentally ended up similar, my Maria is not related to the Maria from Umineko.

Note

Arere. I haven't updated in ages. I'm sorry.

I apologize to those of you that read for my murder scenes; the next two chapters do not include much horror. They exist to set up the situation, since this arc takes place outside of Hinamizawa with new characters.

Enjoy!

**.ARC FOUR .**

_The Killing Lies Chapter_

The skies rumbled with thunder, bringing light to the otherwise midnight dark school. Shadows gave her face outline, light reflecting off of her smooth cheeks and tears. The clear drops of salt rolled down from her eyes, mixing with crimson smears and stains. Shaking, the teen opened her mouth, no sound escaping until another flash of lightning and clap of thunder. Her wails and screams mixed with the screams of the sky.

Oyashiro-sama was watching.

**C H A P T E R 0 1 5 : A M A Z I N G**

The school was bustling with activity, students chattering and laughing as they went about their final chores. Lockers were being cleaned and old posters torn down, classrooms cleaned and yearbooks signed; the last week of school was upon the students of Hopenhill High School. It was a cleaning period, a period of class where students and teachers pitched in to clean up the school before summer. It was also a time of club farewells and planning for the next year, and this included the infamous "Amazing Club".

"I now declare this meeting officially IN SESSION." Announced a cheerful senior, her eyes glowing with far-too-much-ernergy an a cocky smile on her face, "Today is our last meeting! So let's review our accomplishments!"

"Don't we do that every meeting, Rina?" Asked a boy who sat directly across from her. Contrasting, the energetic girl, whose hair was carrot red and eyes were bright green, his hair was a dark shade of brown and his eyes with blue. The girl, Rina, frowned and pointed at him accusingly.

"SILENCE KAZUN! The Amazing club is all about us four accomplishing the amazing!"

"And bragging." Commented another boy, who sat on Rina's left. Like her, he had brightly coloured hair, though his was blonde and his eyes were blue, like the other boy, Kazun. Opposite of him was a rather petite girl, her dark brown hair in curly pigtails that hung above her shoulders, tied up with shiny pink ribbons. She smiled silently, but remained otherwise silent.

"Yes, Mark. We must brag about it too. After all, we beat even at art Club in Art Contests and the writing club in the number of magazines that accept our work! We deserve to brag!" Rina exclaimed, now turning to the silent girl, "That means you too, Maria!"

Maria, the petite girl, blushed and nodded slowly, looking down and putting her hands together, fingers locked and thumbs twiddling to vent her shy nerves.

"Y-yes… But… umm…"

"If you won't start the final bragging, then I will." Mark said with a wide grin and a flirty wink to accompany it, "This year I won a fundraiser tennis match and raised over a thousand dollars thanks to my sponsors! I was second in a five mile marathon and joined the basketball team once again. I also got in one of the top five scores on our finals-"

"But Maria got first. You really can't brag about that when the real winner is in front of you." Rina scolded, leaning over to Maria and petting the smaller girl's head. Once again, Maria's cheeks changed to a red shade and she averted her gaze.

"I-it's okay… Fifth is a major accomplishment too…"

Rina paused, putting a finger to her lip, "I suppose… I mean, Kazun didn't get in the top five. He only got eleventh this year."

"But you weren't even in the top twenty this year." Kazun retorted, glaring a bit at Rina. She froze and turned red, clearly embarrassed by the facts.

"W-Well! Academics isn't my specialty! Maria has the brains, Mark is the sportsman, Kazun is the writer and I'm the artist!" Rina explained, laughing nervously.

Maria and Kazun laughed quietly in unison, but Mark stepped up to Rina and looked her in the eye, a grin on his face.

"Anyways! You guys still need to brag! Or do you not have anything to brag about?"

Rina stuck out her tongue. "I won a scholarship for a thousand dollars and published a comic book! I'm not just winning awards, I'm making money!"

"I got a few more poems accepted to magazines and am writing the speech to represent the senior class this year." Kazun commented, "I got to publish a book too."

At the mentioning of the book, all eyes turned to Maria, who currently had her nose in a book and was barely paying attention. When they saw the author's name, Mark and Rina 'aw'ed.

"So that's why you've been clinging to that book all day It's Kazun's book!" Rina teased, "How cute!"

Maria's face went red once again and she closed it quickly, holding it so it covered the lower part of her face, and to hide the embarrassed smile creeping across her lips.

"N-no, it's not… like that… I just thought I'd advertise…" She replied meekly, "And… Kazun needs it to sell… or he can't publish another. I want to support his dreams…"

Hearing this, Kazun blushed a bit as well, and glanced away.

"Oh? Support his dreams? Are you two finally da-"

"A-ANYWAYS!" Kazun exclaimed, cuting Mark off, "Aren't we meeting today to plan our senior prank?"

The teasing was dropped, and a slightly more serious mood consumed the room. Rina nodded, a slightly scary smirk replacing her playful smile.

"That's quite true. As the Amazing Club, we need to go out with a bang."

Mark nodded. "Something amazing and memorable that doesn't put our scholarships at risk."

"But that's still fun." Maria added quietly, now too shy to read the book, so deciding to join in the conversation.

"Not many options, then." Kazun commented with a sigh. The serious mood broke when Rina stood up from her seat and pointed at Kazun, pressing her finger against his cheek,

"WRONG! With out combination of talents, we'll definitely think of something!" She exclaimed confidently, "We have Maria's brain for planning, Kazun's writing and creativity for an idea, my art for making it beautiful and Mark's strength for the labor!"

Maria giggled and clapped quietly, "Yes yes. Let's do our best."

"Agreed." Kazun added, smiling. Mark frowned. "What? You're abusing me!"

"Sorry" Rina chirped, winking and sticking out her tongue, "Can't put my artist hands at risk, ye know?"

It seemed a fight was ready to break out, but the quiet voice of Maria redirected the club's attention to their mission.

"Maybe… If we move all the desks in the hallway… And arrange them… to make statues." She offered quietly, "With Rina designing and Mark moving them… And then… Kazun can write a poem."

Rina blinked, then nodded. "I can't think of anything better, so let's go with it!"

"Sounds good. I'll help Mark move the desks." Kazun offered, "Good thinking, Maria."

"But when?" Mark asked, "When should we do it?"

Silence fell momentarily before Rina offered her wisdom.

"It needs to be after the janitors clean up but before the staff arrives in the morning…"

"If we have a long club meeting, we can stay in the school until after the school is cleaned and do it in the evening." Kazun suggested, "And while we wait, we can plan how to do this quickly."

A nod of agreement passed among the club members.

"Let's do it tonight." Rina decided, "Students have been cleaning all day, so the janitors will be out by four. We'll have from four to eight to do what we can."

"Four hours is plenty." Maria added, "Shall we plan now?"

Mark shook his head, "We ought to get back to cleaning. We don't want to raise suspicion, right?"

Maria frowned. "Pataaa… That's true…"

Hearing the disappointment in his friend's voice, Kazun leaned over to Maria and pet her head. "Don't worry. We have class together, right? We can plan while we clean."

"Just don't get caught." Rina warned, "We're going to make this the most amazing thing ever!"

With the decision made, the club members rose from their seats and made their ways to their proper classes. The entire school was full of smiles, innocent and naïve, unaware of what horror was loaming on the horizon.

Stopping, Kazun peered out the window and sighed. It was hard for him to grasp the reality; this was his senior year. It had been four years since that terrible night…

"Gau!" Maria exclaimed, bumping into her taller friend when he suddenly stopped, "Kazun? What's wrong?"

He looked down, gaze softening a bit. She seemed so happy and cheerful… Had she forgotten what had happened four years ago?

As if she had read his mind, Maria closed her eyes and hugged his arm, smiling faintly. "I remember… But that's the past now. I have Kazun to take care of me, right? I'm not alone."

He smiled lightly and nodded, "Yeah. And they caught the murderer."

Her arms fell to her sides, the hug abandoned, and a shocked look on her face. But ti wasn't the type of relieved shock Kazun had hoped to see; Maria looked scared.

"They…. What?"


	16. Forget

**Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Fanfiction**

When They **C**ry Again

Disclaimer

I do not own Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Kai) or anything like that. My characters are obviously mine, though. Though they accidentally ended up similar, my Maria is not related to the Maria from Umineko.

Note

Ahahaha...Sorry for not updating in ages. This arc will probably last two more chapters and I promise some gore! Feel free to guess the murderer starting next chapter!

It's probably not what you think.

The answer arcs have no solid order. So if there's one of the old arcs that you rrrreally want the truth behind then let me know!

Enjoy!

**.ARC FOUR .**

_The Killing Lies Chapter_

CHAPTER TWO : FORGET

It had been the summer before high school. Back then, Kazun and Maria had been neighbors, and she was not nearly as small to him as she was now; back then, her petite stature had been almost the same size as him, before his high school growth spurt that left her. For months before, she had worried him. Maria would switch suddenly from being cheerful and bubbly to shy and reserved, often coming to school with bruises and scratches. It seemed that she lived at his house, since whenever she could, Maria would stay over and study. If their study sessions ran late, she would spend the night, claiming to be too scared to walk to her house alone, despite the fact she lived right next door.

At school, she emersed herself in studies. Having recently transferred from a more rural village, Maria was far behind, and had a strange dialect that always made her classmates giggle and point. Kazun had been her only friend, and she was the only one who seemed willing to treat the rich boy as her equal; possibly because she was rich as well.

"Kazun?"

Her innocent voice broke his train of thought. Kazun glanced down, realizing he had been dazed while thinking about those times. Maria frowned, clearly a bit annoyed by how he had spaced out and left her alone in reality.

"Come on. We need to hurry." Her tiny, soft voice was scolding him, as if he were a small child. It made him laugh a bit to think the smaller girl was scolding the bigger boy.

"Right right. Sorry." He apologized, continuing the walk to class. Maria was following close behind him, though her walk seemed a bit off and sad; Kazun had noticed that she mimicked people's footsteps when she was sad to try and get her mind off of things.

"You okay?" He asked, now peering over his shoulder at the girl that walked in his shadow.

Maria glanced up, her footsteps falling out of the pattern from surprise, then smiled lightly. "It's scary… That they found him." She replied, "I don't know… what to think."

Maybe she had the right to have mixed feelings.

Back then, Kazun had been catching on to her family problems. Her bruises, her concrete smile, her fear of her own house… He'd been a bit glad to find that her parents couldn't abuse her anymore. The teachers at school had caught on too, but they were unsure of how to help; Maria wouldn't talk about the problem and they couldn't get her to confess, no matter how hard they tried. She was just too stubborn, and too busy trying to catch up with the city's education system.

"It was exactly four years ago, huh? June 19th." Kazun said slowly, "When it happened…"

Maria flinched a bit when the date was mentioned, hanging her head so her sad expression could be lost in the shadows. "Yeah…. We had summer then, right? Before they adjusted the school schedule to make up for our longer spring break."

"That's not the point." Kazun said firmly, stopping again and turning to face her. Obviously, they couldn't talk much about that disturbing, terrifying night in the hallway; students were passing with cleaning supplies every few seconds, and Kazun knew Maria might cry if the murder was mentioned, and that she'd be embarrassed to cry in the school.

Still…

"We brought it upon ourselves." Maria said quietly, "We left that village… They always said that he'd curse us if we left and dragged our sin outside. We turned his kindness away… So he cursed us to teach us we were wrong."

Kazun frowned. "You still believe in Oyashiro-sama? Even after what he did to you?"

After the incident, Kazun and Maria had visited the newly formed Hinamizawa for her family's funeral, since that was the location they had asked to buried at. While at the "utopia" village Kazun had learned that a God, "Oyashiro-sama", supposedly guarded the place...And they everyone was quite obsessed with him.

She nodded before looking up, her gaze hiding sadness, "You don't worship Oyashiro-sama in the city… You wouldn't understand… That was his special day, the day his curses kill… I have more reason to believe now than ever."

On that night four years ago, Maria had been home with her family. Kazun had honestly tried to find an excuse to invite her to his house, but her parents wanted to celebrate a festival unique to their old village, and Kazun wasn't allowed. He'd gone to play video games, and was oblivious to everything happening in the house next door until the phone call.

"I'm cursed!" Maria had whispered from the other line, her voice breaking under the pressure of sobs and shaking with fear, "K-Kazun….! Call the police… Please call them for me, I can't do it!"

Naturally, he'd called the cops. In the house, they'd found the girl's parents, dead from stab wounds. There was reason to believe they had been tied to chairs at one point, and that they had tried to escape. Maria was in one of the closets, soaked in their blood and sobbing, a cellphone in her hand.

The murderer wasn't there.

"Mom and dad wanted me to be happy." She said quietly, glancing up to her friend, "The man tied mom up. I had been going to get the cotton for the festival, so I wasn't there. He made Dad open the safe, and when they left the kitchen, I went to mom. She told me to hide, so I did… And then he killed them."

Kazun's gaze softened and he reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder and pulling his small friend into a hug. "You don't need to talk about it in school, you know."

"I do." Maria replied, returning the hug, her voice giving him reason to believe she was crying, "I can't forget it…"

"Yes you can. You can't let that haunt you forever." Kazun replied firmly, "It wasn't your fault."

She hiccuped and nodded, tightening her grip on her friend, "Kazun…"

"OI! You two! Unless they give away PDA awards this isn't the time!" It was Rina. Kazun blushed and let Maria go, and she did the same. They had completely forgotten that Rina's classroom was next to hers, and that she had planned to catch up after talking to Mark. Since she didn't know about the events four years ago, the hug was simply flirting to her.

"Good good. You can do that later, when I have a camera, okay?" She offered, grinning and beginning to push the two towards their classroom, "Don't forget about tonight, okay?"

"Y-Yes...sorry, Rina..." Maria stuttered. Her cheeks were flaring red and she was too embarrassed to look Kazun in the eyes anymore. He was just as embarrassed though, so never noticed that she wasn't looking at him. After Rina left, giggling and singing about young love, Kazun and Maria returned to their class to help with the cleaning. Kazun was excited about the upcoming evening.

~...~

"There! That's how you wanted it to look, right, Rina?"

"Mmm... No, I changed my mind. Move those desks again and then..."

"Dangit, Rina! Just say yes! I'm not playing this game all night!"

The club had started arranging desks, though Rina was having far too much fun ordering the boys around. Mark and Kazun had been moving desks back and forth for the past four hours while Rina came up with designs and Maria modified them to be stable.

"P-please move it, Mark... If you don't then it'll fall over." Maria pleaded nervously. Only because Maria was so desperate Mark agreed.

"Okay~! We're done! Good work, everyone!" Rina exclaimed happily, "NOW! Home!"

"FINALLY!" Mark sighed in relief and grabbed his bag before heading to the door. Kazun went to help Maria pick up her bag, since he planned to walk her to her Uncle's house, though Rina stopped his efforts when she came over and roughly patted his back.

"GOOD WORK, KAZUN! You're a lot stronger than I thought you'd be!" She commented loudly, "You were almost as strong as Mark! Isn't that right, Mark?"

Mark was standing at the door. He turned to the others, frowning. "Uh... yeah um... Hey guys, the door is locked."

Everyone fell silent.

"It's what?" Rina repeated, tilting her head cluelessly.

"Locked. L-O-C-K-E-D." Mark said with a sigh, "Looks like we might need to call for some help..."

Rina frowned. "My folks are busy until nine."

"Mine too." Mark agreed, turning to Kazun and Maria.

Kazun frowned. "I live with my grandmother and she's not so good at driving..."

Maria shivered. "M-my uncle...I..." She seemed to be searching for an excuse to not call him. Kazun couldn't help but frown, especially when he noticed that she was rubbing her arm.

"Well, maybe we ought to call the police and admit that we're stuck." Rina suggested. Maria gasped and shook her head.

"NO! I-if he... If I..." She shook her head. Though Mark and Rina just thought Maria was being weird, Kazun was guessing that the police brought Maria unpleasant memories.

"Why don't we stay here then?" He suggested, "How many kids get to spend the night at school?"

Rina and Mark wouldn't have been convinced if Maria didn't look so desperate for them to agree. And it was while Mark was looking at Maria that he noticed the bruise on her arm.

"Maria? Your arm..."

She flinched and tried harder to hide it. Now that Mark had pointed it out Kazun knew he wasn't seeing things.

"I-It's nothing... I slipped and fell and..."

Kazun frowned. He didn't believe the story at all.

It was Rina who pointed out the next worrisome detail.

"Now that I think about it...Maria, when we were changing for that volleyball game your shoulder looked really banged up too... And you've been putting on a lot of make-up lately..."

Maria was shaking again and backed away. Curious, Mark stepped forward and touched her cheek, trying to rub off some make-up. Like Rina, he suspected that she was hiding more bruises. But Maria yelped in pain,confirming the suspicion that she was hurt.

"Pataaaaa...." She whimpered. Mark moved his hand away quickly.

"I'm sorry, Maria! I didn't think it'd be that sensitive..."

"I-It's okay... I just got it yesterday so it still...ah!" Maria shut up, not wanting to admit to it. This made the three other members frown with concern again.

"Maria... Even if he's your only remaining family member, you don't have to put up with him." Mark said, clearly pitying her. It surprised Kazun and Maria that he knew her parents were dead, since neither had told him.

Rina blinked, confused.

"I-It's not... How did you...?" Maria murmured.

"I always wanted to be a detective so read up on the case." Mark explained, "It was an interesting case too...The young daughter,_covered_ in her family's blood, is the _sole_ survivor..."

Kazun twitched. The way Mark was emphasizing his words...It sounded like he was accusing Maria of being the killer. He wondered if Maria realized this too, because the poor girl was trembling more than ever. The fact that she looked so desperate to run away, and kept sending pleading looks in Kazun's direction, caused him to snap.

"Hey! Stop making Maria uncomfortable!" He yelled, "Why are you bothering her about that?!"

Was Mark smiling.. no.. smirking? Kazun gritted his teeth.

"I told you... I've _always_ wanted to be a detective. I just want to help a friend rest easy knowing her _beloved_ parents' murderer is behind bars." Mark explained.

Rina stared. "What's this now...?" She asked, a bit worried about being left out. Kazun marched over to Maria and shooed Mark away.

"It's nothing, Rina." He grumbled, letting Maria lean against him and whimper. "It's nothing."


End file.
